But They Were Happy
by wildkidlexie
Summary: Rose Weasley wants to look into Ron's pensive. Scorpius is hesitant and doesn't want to take part of it in the first place. But everything goes wrong when they both accidentally fall in...
1. Prologue

**A/N: So this is another story, LOL. I can't help myself from typing! Anyway, this isn't about the new generation…but let's go back to the old generation. Back when we didn't even know Harry Potter yet!**

**This is just the Prologue. If I get good responses or if at least a few people like this idea, I'd go on with it, but if not…LOL, what's the point if I'm going to come up with a bad idea and turn it into a story and it becomes worse? So, the idea a yes or a no-no?**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy reading and please review. **

_**PROLOGUE**_

Teddy looked sideways at Rose and Scorpius. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said calmly. The two thirteen-year-olds smiled sheepishly. Teddy shook his head and walked over to the shelf, putting back the book he was reading. "If Ron found out that you've stepped foot in this room, I bet Rose will be grounded for a month. You wouldn't have any adventures for the summer with Rose grounded, Scorpius, and that would be close enough to being grounded as well."

Rose sighed. "But we wanted to find out. I mean, if you don't tell Dad he won't ever know we're here, right?" she said hopefully, battling her long eyelashes at Teddy, a stunt she did when she wanted to get something done her way. It works every time.

Teddy shook his head. "No I won't, but it'll be in your conscience," he warned. He glanced at the clock that hung on the wall. "I better go. Harry and Ron would be waiting for me to join the meeting," he muttered. He was about to head out of the door when he looked back at the suspicious looking pair. "I won't tell Ron as long as the both of you stay away from the pensive. You know how touchy Ron gets when someone looks into it." He Apparated away after warning them.

Rose pulled Scorpius's hand. "Come on," she hissed as she neared the pensive, "we're going to check this out." She licked her upper lip. "If Dad doesn't want to tell me about his childhood days, which Harry does tell to my cousins, I will find out for myself." An impish twinkle came to her eyes, much to Scorpius's dismay.

"But Teddy said not to go near it," Scorpius protested. "I don't want your father hating me more than he already does. He might kick me out of your house forever." He looked at Rose who hadn't taken her eyes off of the pensive. "Rose, I do hate those dangerous seeking for adventure eyes of yours. There is no way we are diving into that pensive. No way, Rose Weasley, no way," he said firmly, but somewhat unsure of his conviction.

Rose spun and looked at him. "Don't you want to know why our dads hate each other so much?" she asked. Scorpius could never resist this and Rose knew it. "It's not an unworthy adventure. This time, we'll get to know why your dad and my dad don't get along. It's interesting and maybe we'll understand more." She gave Scorpius a pull. "It's an educational trip," she said playfully. "Dad would understand it. Come on, Malfoy. You aren't afraid, are you?"

Scorpius looked at her uncertainly. "Actually, I kind of am." Rose scowled. Scorpius shook his head. "No Rose, I am not going to fall for that look again this time. It isn't detention we're facing, it's your father." He didn't want to get in Ron's bad side, not now that Ron's very strict with him being around in the first place. "Come on, Rose, let's get out of here. If your dad finds us here, he'll kill us for it," he reminded her. "It's your dad we're talking about. He loses his temper easily."

"As if yours don't," countered Rose. "Don't be a coward, Scorpius. It's just one peak. Will it hurt?" she asked.

"It will," muttered Scorpius. Rose shook her head and pulled Scorpius harder. "Let's just get into it. It will be fun knowing about Dad. Like I said, you'll know a little about your father too since they did cross paths once in a while. Come on, Scorpius!" Scorpius tried to resist, but Rose was pulling him with all her might. "Don't…be…a…bloody…coward!"

Before she knew it, Rose looked behind her and stumbled backwards, pulling Scorpius along with her into the pensive.

**A/N: reviews please! Thanks!**


	2. With Arms Wide Open

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews. I really appreciate them. I hope you keep them coming though. **

**I'm not very good in math so I may have made a mistake in calculating the Weasleys' ages. Sorry if I have gotten anything wrong and some of the kids don't act/speak according to their age. **

**I'm also sorry if I did get the idea of the pensive wrong. I'm a bit of a blur when it comes to technicalities about it. **

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING…****(though I wish I did!)**

**Hope you enjoy the story**** though****, please review!**

_"Ouch!" Scorpius stood up and rubbed his sore bottom. He looked at Rose and helped her stand as well. "Where are we?" he asked as he looked around and saw a house. He had never seen anything so shaggy-looking. He squinted his eyes and looked further. "Rosie, do you have a clue where we are?" he asked as he dusted off the dirt on his robes. _

_Rose looked around. Suddenly, a smile crept to her face. "I know where exactly this place is," she said excitedly and grabbed Scorpius's hand. "Come on, let's go inside that." She and Scorpius neared the house. "This is where my parents take me every year for Christmas, though it looks a lot better when we go there." Scorpius followed Rose to the front gate. "Welcome," Rose started, "to my father's home, the Burrow."_

_Scorpius raised his eyebrow. "This is the Burrow? But I've seen it in your pictures and it never looks like this." He cast his eyes sideways and saw some gnomes running around the garden. He cringed. His mother wouldn't have it back at his home, those gnomes. He looked at Rose. "Why exactly is this place, a little, er…" Scorpius stopped. He didn't want to offend Rose in any way. _

_"Messy?" Rose suggested as they went into the house through the back door. "Oh, Dad said it was because Grandma Weasley has too many things to do to attend to trivial things." __Scorpius looked around. He did not dare speak of his opinion, but he thought of the place more than messy. Rose's eyes filled with joy as she looked about. "I've never seen the Burrow like this before," she admitted. _

_Scorpius looked at her. "What's the difference?" he asked. _

_Rose thought for a moment. "Grandma and Grandpa have cleaned the place more often than they did, I think." Scorpius nodded understandingly. He had never seen the place this disorganized when he looked at Rose's vacation pictures. "And look," said Rose as she pointed to the fireplace, "they've replaced the fireplace. I've never seen it look like this, very old."_

_Scorpius didn't know what to say. He had never seen a place where everything looked very disorganize and old. Back at his home, everything was on the right place and very new, as far as he could tell. There were some old things too, but they were heirlooms. Scorpius doubted that the fireplace could be the Weasleys' heirloom, or for a matter of fact, an heirloom at all. _

_The pair went into the kitchen. Suddenly, something__ moved and Rose was sure that it was neither her nor Scorpius. She looked around and saw the little box move. "What is that?" she asked. Scorpius looked at it too. There doesn't seem to be anyone around to move it. Rose walked over to it, but before she could near it, she heard someone coming down from the stairs. _

"Ronald, is that you under there?" Arthur Weasley walked to the box and picked it up. Ron looked up and smiled at him. Arthur scooped Ron into his arms. "Why are you here all alone? Wasn't Bill with you?" Ron blinked twice. Arthur smiled. "Now let's go up stairs to see what's happening. We don't want to miss the action, do we?" He started to go up the stairs carrying Ron with him.

_The pair stood still for a moment__. They both looked at the clock where all the Weasleys' faces were seen. Every hand pointed to the word: MASTER'S BEDROOM. Rose smiled and pulled Scorpius up the stairs. "They're all gathered in my grandparents' room," she said. _

_"Rose…wait!" __Scorpius stumbled up the stairs after Rose. _

"A girl?"

"Bloody hell, she is a girl!"

"Watch the language, Bill Weasley."

"She's tiny!"

"Of course she is, she ought to be!"

"Look at her hands!"

"Dad, why does she have small hands?"

"She looks like an elf."

"Fred!"

_They reached the master's bedroom. Rose looked around. It was very small compared to her parents' room. Apparently, the windows hadn't been fixed in a long time. She could spot a leak above the bed. She figured that her grandparents were seriously busy with raising their children because they had a bunch of boys and a little girl. _

_Scorpius looked at the room. "Isn't this too small for a master's bedroom?" he asked in a small voice. The room, to him, was a size of their guest room, which his father don't pay much attention to and say it's a waste of space even. He looked at the window. "How come they don't fix that window? It could break anytime and I daresay people sleeping on that bed would have a nasty cut if a storm comes unexpectedly and breaks it."_

_"Dad did mention that they didn't have so much money before," said Rose thoughtfully._

_Scorpius blinked. He couldn't believe that some people would be this poor. He didn't tell this to Rose though. He knew she would get offended because this was her father's life after all. __He looked around more time and couldn't help but think how lucky he was to have a home at the Malfoy's Manor. He used to think about wanting to be one of the Weasleys instead of the Malfoys, but not he was having second thoughts about that idea. _

_Rose and Scorpius watched from the outside of the master's bedroom. The Weasley boys crowded about the bed while Molly Weasley and Arthur Weasley were on it__, Arthur carrying the youngest boy, Ronald, in his arms__. Rose pulled Scorpius nearer to the scene. Her eyes widened with what she saw. Ginny Weasley looked very t__iny as she was held by Molly. She wiggled her nose and everyone laughed at her. They all looked very pleased. Scorpius studied the scene. _

_"You mean there are seven in the Weasley family?" he asked as he counted the boys and Ginny. Rose nodded. Scorpius laid his eyes on the baby. "Oh, and Ginny was the only girl? I didn't know this." He suddenly became as interested as Rose. "Look, your dad was tiny too," he pointed ou__t as he gazed at one (and a quarter__)-year-old Ron. _

Charlie blinked twice. "I can't believe we finally have a girl in the family," she said. Bill nodded in agreement. He looked closer at Ginny. "Mum, are you positive that this one is a girl?" he asked again, leaning towards the bed so that he could have a better look at Ginny who gurgled as her response.

Molly laughed. "Oh, I am quite sure that she is. After all, I was the one who gave birth to her." Molly rocked the baby. "The Weasleys hadn't had a girl in centuries and I believe Ginny is very special." Her eyes twinkled as she watched her daughter quietly go to sleep. She looked to her side and saw Ron staring at her. "She's your new little sister, Ron," Molly said. She reached out to Ron and touched his face. "Don't give me that look, Dear."

Fred laughed. "Look at Ronnie!"

"He likes Ginny," Bill pointed out the obvious. "Unlike two people who caused a racket when Ron was born," he said, flashing a look at the twins.

"Unfair!" said George, pouting.

"Hush boys," said Arthur. "If you are going to make that racket, go down. The baby is going to sleep now." Ron moved slowly as he tried to reach out for his new sister. Arthur chuckled. "She's sleeping now, Ron. You can touch her when she wakes up. She looks very tired." Ron looked upset when his father pulled him away from Ginny. Arthur stroked his son's hair. "Why don't we let Ginny and your bother rest," he looked at the other boys, "and let's go down and fix some lunch."

"Gi-nny." Everyone turned their attention to little Ron who was still trying to reach out to Ginny. Arthur stared at the little boy. "Gi-nny," Ron repeated as his father set him on the bed and watched him softly touch Ginny's little ear.

A tear trickled down Molly's eye. "That was sweet," she whispered. She watched as Ron looked at Ginny. Everyone else looked stunned. "He finally said his first word. Ginny…" She cradled Ginny in her arms when the baby started to move. When Ginny calmed down and went back to sleep, Molly held out her hand and pulled Ron into a gently one-armed hug. "I'm so proud of you, Ron. You are finally talking. Oh Ron…"

Fred rolled his eyes. "_Oh Ron_," he mimicked. Arthur flashed a warning look at him. Fred grinned impishly and looked at George. "I'm going to the bathroom." George's eyes sparkled as if something was they were cooking up a new plot on the spot. The twins quickly disappeared from the room as Arthur sighed.

"He's talking," said Percy. "Dad, he's talking!"

Arthur nodded. "I believe he is." He ruffled the little hair that Ron had. "We have another great wizard Weasley right here," he said proudly. Ron looked and smiled at him as if he understood what his father said. "You look like me when I was about your age, don't you?" Arthur carried Ron into his lap again. "Very much alike and handsome aren't we, son? I believe it's like father like son."

Molly playfully rolled her eyes. "I hope he doesn't get as cocky as you," she said.

Bill crossed his arms across his chest. "And we're not your sons, Dad? May I remind you that you have eight of us here."

"I know Bill. It's hard to miss," replied Arthur. Ron repeated his first word again. "Didn't Fred and George start talking only a few months after their second birthday." Percy and Charlie nodded simultaneously. Arthur beamed. "Ha-ha! We have a genius one here too!"

Percy frowned. "I started talking when I was ten months. My first word was Da-da," he reminded his father, not wanting to be left out. Of all the Weasley boys, Percy was the one who blurted out his first word, which was as he said, Da-da. "Dad!" Percy tugged on Arthur's robes. "Don't you remember that I was the first one ever to say Da-da?" he asked, now looking disappointed.

Arthur placed his hand on Percy's head. "Of course I do, Percy. You were the first of all your brothers to have said your first word. I'm very much proud and honored that it is Da-da." Percy grinned widely, causing Bill to roll his eyes. "I saw that Bill." Bill tried to look as innocent as possible. Ron suddenly tried to reach out to Ginny again. "What is it, son?" asked Arthur.

"Gi-nny!" Arthur placed Ron in front of the baby. Ron tilted his head and apparently gently moved so he wouldn't wake up the baby. Molly smiled at the peculiar behavior that her son exhibited. "Gi-nny," Ron repeated. His eyes widened.

_"How could Dad remember this? He's barely one…" said Rose__, looking at the baby-version of her father__. Scorpius shrugged. Rose looked at Ron. "Isn't Dad adorable when he was a baby? Look at those cute-looking freckles!" She smiled as she walked even nearer. "Look at him looking so tiny. Mum's right! Hugo does look like Dad a lot. Look at him. Oh, except for the ears. I believe Hugo got Mum's ears."_

_Scorpius watched as Ron still stared at Ginny. "Ginny is your dad's first word? I wouldn't have expected that."__ Rose__ nodded thoughtfully.__ Scorpius looked around the room. He could clearly see a hole in the ceiling. The closet looked as if it had been handed down from generations to generations for years. The bed that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were on creaked as they moved. Scorpius also noticed the patches that were sewn on the boys' clothes. __He daren't ask Rose why. _

Charlie tilted his head a little. "Her nose looks too little," he said as he observed the baby. Charlie, being a little obsessive compulsive at the moment, went on. "Her eyes aren't the same size. Look, the right one is slightly bigger than the left. Her ears aren't in proportion with her face and look at her lips, they're too hug for her face!"

"And we love her all the more," said Arthur. "She'll turn out to be a beautiful girl, you'll see." He smiled at Ginny and Molly. "Let's leave the two girls to rest now. Why don't us boys go down and find something to eat?" he suggested. He took Ron to his hands and kissed Molly. "I'll be up with some tea in a while," he whispered. He looked at the three other boys. "Charlie, be of help and go find Fred and George," he said. Charlie hesitated. "I do think I have a Chocolate Frog somewhere…"

"I'm on it," Charlie said quickly and disappeared.

Bill frowned. "Why don't I get the Chocolate Frog?" he asked.

"Me too," Percy chimed in.

Ron looked at his father as if wanting to say something he couldn't express in words. Arthur sighed and shook his head. "Let's just go down and grab a bite, shall we? We don't want your mother staring. You all be of good help when you help me make the food for your Mum." Bill and Percy nodded at the same time. Ron still looked blankly at his father.

The two boys vanished from the scene and that left Molly, Arthur, babies Ron and Ginny. "They all do grow up quickly, don't they?" whispered Molly as she rocked the waking baby once more. Arthur nodded in agreement. Molly looked at Arthur. "Can I have Ron here for a moment please, Arthur?" she said. Arthur placed their son beside Molly. "He's getting as big as ever." Ron smiled at his mother. Molly smiled back. "Aren't you the sweetheart, Ronnie?"

"Gi-nny," Ron replied. Arthur laughed in amusement.

"At least he's able to talk now," Arthur said. "We won't be worrying about any of our boys being mute." Molly laughed at that. He looked at his daughter. "She's perfect, Molly." Molly nodded. Arthur took Ron in his arms again. "We'll be downstairs and you can holler if you need us. Get some rest. I'm sure you and Ginny need a lot of it." Ron comfortably snuggled in Arthur's arms.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

With arms wide open  
Under the sunlight  
Welcome to this place  
I'll show you everything  
With arms wide open  
Now everything has changed  
I'll show you love  
I'll show you everything  
With arms wide open  
With arms wide open  
I'll show you everything ...oh yeah  
With arms wide open..wide open

_**-Creed-**_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_Rose's eyes followed Arthur. "They're going downstairs!" she said. Scorpius followed her towards the staircase, but everything went black before they knew it. Rose looked at Scorpius. "What's hap__pening?" she asked frantically as the black scene swirled around the both of them_

_Scorpius looked at her calmly. "Your Dad must have fallen asleep."_

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I hope to see you at the next chapter. Please review this too and tell me what you think, because if I don't know what you think of the story, I do take it as a negative sign...(I'm being very pessimistic at time, especially when I try out new ideas!)**** With whatever suggestion or comment you give, I'll try to make it better next chapter. **

**NEXT CHAPTER: Brotherly Love**


	3. Brotherly Love

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and support that you have given. It really helps a lot! D I can't thank you guys enough!**

**For Scorpius and Rose not to be confused about the twins, I tried it in my first draft then I let my cousin read it. She said it was too confusing that they were confused that the reader would be confused about it (Get?) **** So sorry if there's a big lack of confusion there. **

**I know there's a lot of flaws in this story, but I hope you like it.**

**A shout out of thanks to Denny who has got a helluva number of brothers and sisters! Thanks for all the help about sibling rivalry! (okay, I only have one brother and he has 12 so he'd understand more about the Weasleys than I ever could lol!) So thanks so much, Den!**

**Please review the chapter!! Pretty please? Lol!**

_Scorpius looked around. It was the same scene, although the skies looked dark. He could tell that it was about to rain. He turned and saw Rose looking towards the direction of the broom shed. He walked towards her and saw the twins and Ron dragging out one of the broom. Ron wasn't a baby any longer. He had turned into a toddler. __He watched as Fred grabbed a broom, a Cleansweep. Scorpius blinked. He couldn't believe that someone would own a Cleansweep. His father had said that only those people without sense would buy one. It was always so slow and old-fashioned. _

"Watch this," said Fred as he mounted the broom. George looked at him uncertainly for a moment. "Come on, get a broom too George. It will be fun." He cast his eyes at Ron. "Not you though. You're too little." Ron looked upset when Fred said this. "Don't give me that look. Mum would kill me if we took you alone," he said and watched as George pull out his mother's broomstick. "Hurry up," he hissed.

"You'we going to get in twouble," Ron said.

Fred smirked. "Not if you don't tell, right?"

_Scorpius looked at Rose. "Oh now I know where you get your adventurous gene from," he said. Rose smiled a bit, but she didn't look too happy. "Where is this Fred chap anyway?__" He finally asked out of curiosity. "I__ haven't seen him in any of your pictures and you only mention about your Uncle George," he said. _

_Rose pursed his lips. She was silent for a moment. "Uncle Fred died in war," she finally said. Scorpius looked sorry tat he asked. He was beginning to like Fred too. __"Uncle George never seem__s__ to__ want to__ talk about him much when we're around. Dad reckons that Uncle George never really got over the death of his twin. I don't blame him."_

_Scorpius looked at the twins as they both hovered from the ground. He couldn't blame him either. _

Ron ran to them. "Mummy told you not to touch them," he said. "She told you that you'we going to be gwounded if you touch the bwoomsticks. I won't tell them but you have to come down." Ron looked worried about his brothers. He suddenly gasped. "You can't take Bill's Cleansweep! He will be vewy angwy! Fwed! Geowge! Come down!" he urged.

George rolled his eyes. "You're ruining the fun, go away!" he snapped.

Fred agreed. "Yeah, if you're not with us, then go join Ginny and play dolls somewhere. You're a little tattle tail and Mummy's boy if you ask me." He turned his attention to his twin brother. "Are you ready, George?" he asked. George nodded enthusiastically. Fred smiled and pulled his broom, which made him fly higher. "This is fun!"

George imitated his brother. "You're right," he agreed.

Ron's lower lip quivered. "Come down…" he said in a quiet voice. He hesitated for a bit before going back into the house. Scorpius and Rose followed behind him and made sure they don't lose sight of him. "Mummy! Mummy!" Ron ran into the kitchen. He tugged on his mother's robes. "Mummy, Fwed and Geowge awe outside playing with the bwooms! They took Bill's Cleansweep too."

_Rose rolled her eyes. "Now I know why Hugo became a tattle tail," she muttered. _

_Scorpius looked at Ron. "He's got a point though. They might hurt themselves, those twins. Aren't they only a few years apart from your dad?" Rose nodded. She watched as Molly quickly wiped her hands on some napk__ins and threw them aside on the __floor. She took Ron's hand and they both headed out the backdoor. Scorpius and Rose followed. "Now I know why the house is so messy," said Scorpius._

_"You can't blame Grandma," countered Rose. "She's really supposed to rush as these things." Scorpius nodded understandingly as they went back out the backyard. _

"FRED! GEORGE! YOU BOTH COME BACK DOWN HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" Molly roared. Fred and George froze when they saw their mother. Fred threw a dirty look a poor intimidated Ron. The twins lowered their wands and hung their heads as they faced their mother. "What were you two thinking flying without supervision? You could've fallen off the brooms and broken your necks!" she exclaimed angrily.

"But we were careful!" protested George.

Molly flashed a warning look at him. "Don't answer back, George. Haven't I taught you any manners?" George pursed his lips. Molly sighed exasperatedly. "Now I want the both of you to put back those brooms and go straight to your room. We'll discuss you punishment from there." She turned, and much to Ron's dismay, left without bringing him along with her.

Fred glared at Ron. "Why did you tell on us?" he asked angrily. Ron's hands trembled. "You weren't supposed to tell on us! You're always Mummy's little boy, aren't you? You always go to her, don't you?" Fred pushed Ron hard enough for the toddler to topple onto the ground. "What do you get in return, huh, Ronnie? A Chocolate Frog?"

"Mummy didn't say anything about a Chocolate Fwog!" said Ron, fighting back tears.

"Then how can you be so much of a tattle tail?" George piped up. He seemed equally angry as his twin brother. "Now Mum's going to come down hard on us this time because she caught us. It's because of you, Ron! You're always telling on us!" He turned around and headed for the broom shed. "Come on, Fred." He furiously walked to the broom shed.

Fred looked at Ron for the last time. "You're so much like a baby!" He turned around to follow George. "Wait up, George."

_Rose sat beside Ron. "If only I can touch him," she whispered. Tears were rolling down Ron's face by now. "Why are they so mean to Dad? He didn't do anything wrong." She watched as the twins joked with each other on the way to the broom shed. "They weren't supposed to go down on his that hard. Dad's just a baby." She turned back to Scorpius. "I didn't know Uncle George and Uncle Fred were this mean to Dad," she said. _

_Scorpius shrugged. "I get that all the time in Slytherin since I always hang around with you," he pointed out. Rose rolled her eyes. "Not that I'm complaining," Scorpius added. __He watched as Rose tried to touch her father. "You can't do that, you know. It's just a memory now. I bet your father doesn't even think of these moments. It's kind of natural," he explained. _

_"But they were his brothers," Rose said unbelievingly. She saw blood trickling down from Ron's __leg__. "Look, he's got a cut. Aw, Dad!" Rose heard some noise. She looked up and saw the twins headed towards their direction. He looked at Ron who looked very pale. "Now what are they going to do?"_

Fred smirked and tucked his arm below Ron's armpits. George did the same thing. "You come with us," hissed Fred. They dragged little Ron with them as they walked into the house. "You little sneak; you always get us into trouble. Why don't you just stay out of our case and go play with Ginny? You always have to run to Mummy."

"You always have to tell on us," added George. "Maybe because you're just jealous that you're too small to do the things we do. You've always been small."

"Ouch, that huwts!" exclaimed Ron. He had stopped crying by now. Fred locked his hands tighter so that Ron couldn't wiggle his way out. "Let go of me! Let go of me!" he said as he kicked. "Fwed, Geowge, I'm sowie! I'm weally sowie!" he said, sounding very helpless. "I won't tell on you next time, I pwomise! Please let go of me!" Ron pleaded.

Fred and George both let go of him at the same time. "You really promise?" said Fred. Ron nodded as he wiped the tears off his face. "Let's do a spit shake on it," said Fred. Ron raised an eyebrow. "I saw them once do it, the Muggles. We were at the park the other day because Dad took us there. It's called a spit shake." Fred held out his hand and spat on it. Ron cringed. "You do the same thing and we shake hands," Fred explained.

"But I don't know how to spit," Ron countered.

"Do it or George and I will never forgive you," Fred threatened. Ron took a deep breath and mustered all the spit he could and spat on his hand as well. "Now let's shake," said Fred. The two boys shook hands. A grin came across Fred's face. "You can't ever break that promise because if you do," Fred looked mysterious and lowered his voice, "a troll will appear and you'll have to wrestle it. Mum and Dad won't see it so you're on your own."

Ron gulped at the thought of wrestling a troll. "I don't want that."

"We know," said George with a smile. "So don't you ever tell on me or Fred again or you'll see the troll." He looked at Fred impishly, but tried to hide it from Ron. Just then, Molly came to the living room. "We're sorry about riding the broom, Mum," George said quickly when he saw her.

Molly shook her head. "I don't know what to do with you boys." She ushered them up the stars. "We are going to talk about this and you're not getting off the hook this time. Your father was there to get you out of punishment the last time you took a go on the brooms. Now up." She turned her attention to Ron who stared at them blankly. "Ron, Ginny's in her room with Charlie. You might want to play with them while I talk to your brothers." Ron watched as Fred and George went up the stairs with their mother. He smiled when Fred gave him a friendly wink.

_"They're not too bad at all," muttered Scorpius. "I thought they were going to pound your dad after that." He looked at Ron who sat on the couch alone. "Why doesn't he go up to Ginny and Charlie like your grandmother says?" he asked Rose who shrugged. "Sometimes, I don't get his mind at all." He looked back at the lonely looking four-year-old. _

_Rose took Scorpius hand. "Come on, let's go see," she said. "He's having a hard time walking. Look at his cut." Rose bent over to study Ron's cut. "I don't know why Grandma didn't see his cut. Look at it. The blood has messed up his pants." Rose looked at Ron for a moment. "He looks really sad," she said after a short observation. "What do you think he's thinking about?"_

_Scorpius shrugged. "Who knows? I think your grandmother was too busy with the twins to notice his cut." He heard the door open from behind him. "Rose, someone's coming through the back door," he said and turned around to see who it was. _

"Hey Ron, what's with you?" Bill walked into the living room. His face was dirty and he looked tired, nonetheless he was smiling. He sat beside his brother. "What's with that look on your face?" He looked down and saw Ron's bloody pants. "Fred and George?" Ron shook his head. Bill smiled. "There couldn't have been any other way though unless you fell from the stairs, which I highly doubt it. Don't worry." Bill stood up. He crouched down. "Let's go upstairs and see what Mum can do with it. I'll give you a lift."

Ron hesitated for a moment. "But I'm heavy now," he said.

Bill chuckled. "Not to heavy for me to carry. Don't worry about it." Ron blinked and climbed on Bill's back. Bill stood up and gave Ron a piggyback ride up the stairs. "You shouldn't let Fred and George bully you always. One of these days you'll regret that you did." He let Ron down when they reached the top of the stairs. "Where's Mum?" he asked.

"Fwed and Geowge," replied Ron.

"They're in for it now," murmured Bill. The color on Ron's face drained. Bill shook his head. "Don't worry. The twins know well that they deserve it. If they give you any trouble, just tell me. You're not on your own until you're seven, that's a promise." Ron smiled. Bill took his hand. "Come on. Ginny might be in her room and you two can play together while we wait for Mum to come out from the twins' room," he said as he led Ron to Ginny's room.

_Rose smiled as she watched Bill lead Ron to Ginny's room. "Aren't they sweet?__" They followed as the pair entered Ginny's room. Rose blinked. It was practically bare if not for Charlie and Ginny sitting in the middle near a small bed with two old stuff toys. "Why is there nothing here…?" asked Rose as her voice faded away. She knew well that her father used to be poor when he was a boy, but not this poor. _

_Scorpius walked nearer to the bed. It was a simple, small, and seemingly hand-me-down one. The room was practically empty except for the bed and a tiny closet which he figured out belonged to Ginny. He turned his eyes to the Weasleys. He suddenly noticed something that he didn't from the first memory. All of their clothes aren't only __patched;__ they're also faded and tattered. __He couldn't help but wonder how they made it through winter. _

"I thought you wouldn't be back until tonight," said Charlie as he looked at Bill and Ron entered. Bill raised an eyebrow. Charlie turned back to Ginny. "Here's Ron to play with you now," he said and stood up. He walked over to Bill. "I heard yelling from the outside a while ago. The twins all right?" he asked. Bill shrugged. Charlie looked at Ron for answers.

Ron didn't want to mention that the twins rode on brooms, especially not the part where George used Bill's Cleansweep. He looked very much hesitant to answer Charlie. Charlie smiled at him reassuringly. Ron sighed heavily.

"They wode the bwooms and Mum got mad at them," he finally said.

Bill raised an eyebrow. "Whose brooms?" he asked. Ron bit his lower lip. Bill scratched his head. "I'm just glad they didn't fall off though," he said calmly, much to Charlie and Ron's surprise since Bill didn't usually like anyone touching it. "It goes whacky at times, which is why I'm thinking of selling it. It won't cost much, but it'll help."

"Help what?" asked Ron.

"You won't understand," said Bill curtly. He looked at Charlie. "You take care of Ron and Ginny. There's something I need to do. And yeah, Ron's got a cut. Make sure Mum sees it before she goes to the kitchen," he instructed and turned and headed out of the room.

Ron looked at Charlie. "Awe you mad at me?" he asked.

Charlie looked puzzled. "Why would I?" Ron shifted uncomfortably. Charlie sighed and sat down beside Ginny again. "Come play with us. We're going off to Hogwarts Express soon," he said in a very uninterested tone. "Ginny, can't you play with Ron instead?" he asked, scratching his head as he looked at his siblings.

Suddenly, Molly entered the room. "Bill told me," she said and looked at Ron. "Come here, Dear. We'll get your leg fixed in no time." She looked at Charlie and gave him a smile. "I'm glad that you've babysat for me. It's hard to juggle all the kids," she said and turned back to Ron. "Come on, now. We'll mend that cut so that it won't hurt any more."

As Ron walked with his mother, he passed by the twins' room. Fred was peeking out from it. He looked at Ron's cut and mouthed _sorry_. He also gave his younger brother and encouraging smile, something Fred doesn't usually do. Ron walked on and followed his mother downstairs to the kitchen where he found Bill drinking milk.

"You all right now, Ron?" asked Bill. Ron nodded. He couldn't have felt any better.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

There's a bond that brothers know  
And it gets stronger as they grow  
A love that time and miles can't come between  
We disagreed but in the end  
There will never be two closer friends  
And Brotherly Love is something we all need.

_**-Whitley Keith-**_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_Scorpius looked at Rose. "What do you think Bill was talking about?" he asked. _

_Rose shrugged. "I have no idea. It was just a Cleansweep. He won't get much money for it," she said thoughtfully. Her face lit up. "Maybe he's about to buy a Nimbus." She turned her attention to Ron whose leg was now being mended. "Uncle Bill rides a Nimbus now, the latest model. He doesn't fancy the Firebolt," she explained._

_"Could be," replied Scorpius, but he had a feeling it was a reason other than that. __"It's happening again!" said Scorpius as the black. Instinctively, he grabbed hold of Rose's hand. "We're about to see another one," he murmured. _

**A/N: Hope you're still enjoying this. Thank you so much for your reviews. I really appreciate them all and it means so much to me when I think of people really liking what I write. Thanks so much for the encouragement!**** I keep on writing know****ing that some people really do**** like my stories! )**

**Sorry for the bad grammar, again, English is not my first language…and I do try to straighten it with spell check but not everything can come up right if the author herself is not very fluent…unfortunately…so yeah, sorry about that bit.**

**Please**** don't forget to**** review this one too! Hope to see you at the next chapter!**

**2****nd**** Term is starting soon so I wouldn't be able to update this story like I do my others stories because I haven't finished it yet. So please bear with me on this Lol, thanks for understanding**

**NEXT CHAPTER: The ****Attic Adventure **


	4. The Attic Adventure

**A/N: Thanks to all the reviewers. I really appreciate it a lot. I'm glad you're reviewing and I hope you do the same for this.**

**It may be very vague and things are not going too well in real life lately, but I still hope you like how the story is going off so far. I'm sorry if this isn't what you guys had expected it to be.  
**

**Hope you enjoy though!**_  
_

_Rose blinked and looked around. "It's dusty in here," she murmured. Scorpius stood up and looked around. Rose also stood as she dusted her clothes. She looked at Scorpius. "Where do you think this place is? It's very dusty in here." She looked at her watch. "It's still too early to come out of this yet," she muttered. She lifted her head slowly to look around once more. "Where's Dad?" she asked. _

_Scorpius strained his neck. "There he is," he said as he saw a little boy scamper about the attic, seemingly trying to hide from someone. "I think the Weasleys are playing hide and seek by the looks of it," he suggested as he walked over to little Ron who was trying to bury himself under a large pile of boxes. "It'll fall on him, you know," Scorpius pointed out. _

_Rose watched as her father managed to squish under it. "I don't think it would. Dad's thin structure could get him anywhere. __She looked above her. "Look, there are a lot of cobwebs up there," she said, pointing to the ceiling. "I thought Dad was afraid of them. How come he's up here now?" She looked back at her young father who was now snickering in victory. _

_"Maybe he isn't yet," said Scorpius His eyes followed the huge spiders that crawled on the cobwebs above them. "I've never seen an attic like this before. Mum never leaves out house with Spider webs. I bet she'll kill the House elf if there are some. Mum likes to keep the house spotless, too spotless sometimes if you ask me."_

_Rose smiled. "I can only imagine," she replied._

_Scorpius heard a muffling noise from behind him. "Someone's coming," he said. Sure enough, he saw Charlie enter the attic. "Charlie must be the it." Rose nodded as she watched Charlie look under the broken tables and chairs in the attic in __search for one of his siblings. Rose laughed a bit. "To be honest, Dad's good at hide and seek."_

"I know one of you is here," Charlie muttered with an impish grin on his face. He searched under and over some old things that were stacked up. "Come out, come out, wherever you are." Charlie sighed and went to the pile of boxes where Ron was hiding. "For the first time none of them tried hiding here…odd," whispered Charlie as he walked past the place where Ron hid himself in. Charlie ran down out of the attic.

Ron moved, making all the boxes tumble before him. He stood up and dusted the dirt off his clothes. With a triumphant smile, he tried to put back the boxes to the proper place. Being small and short as he is of the moment, he had to tip-toe a lot to reach some of the higher places. Ron threw back his head. His slightly long hair, apparently uncut, fell on his face as he perspired.

"Where's Bill when I need him?" he muttered. A small box came falling down from the top, crashing to the ground. Ron held his breath when he heard something smash. "Mum would kill me." He looked about and saw a broken mirror before him. Ron stooped down to take a look at it. He picked up one broken class, causing a deep cut on his finger. "Ow!"

_"That was smart," said Scorpius sarcastically as he watched Ron rub his finger on his pants. "Even a little kid like him should know not to touch __mirror__. But I daresay he's not like me. I'd run if I hear something __break knowing Mum would throw a fit. By the looks of it, your grandmother would to. Ron did turn pale when he heard the mirror break."_

_Rose nodded thoughtfully as she crouched down to take a closer look at Ron's cut. "It could get infected if he lets it go on like this. __I do hope he does enough sense to go down and tell his mother." Ron kept rubbing his bloody finger on his now bloody pants. "Though I guess not by the way he is trying to get the blood off of his finger," she said. _

_Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Of course he won't go running down stairs. Number on, they're playing hide and seek as of the moment and I doubt he'd want to be the first one to get caught. Number two, I'm sure he's afraid of the twins teasing him for running to their mother. Number three, I bet is the real reason, is that he doesn't want his mother to know in the first place or she'll find out that he's broken something and he will surely get into more trouble," he explained. _

_"All too true," said Rose sadly. _

"Bloody mirror," cursed Ron. He took off his shirt and wrapped it around his hands before trying to push the broken mirror under the pile of boxes. Before he knew it, another piece of broken mirror cut through his skin. Ron stepped back and looked at his now two bloody fingers and shook his head. The little boy evidently fought back tears.

"Ron must be up in the attic!" Ron froze. He quickly dived under the pile of boxes, pulling all the shattered pieces of mirror closer to him, piercing his arm this time. Ron squirmed, but didn't do so too much so as not to get caught. Percy and Bill came into the attic, both looking very tired. "Charlie came here to check, but I'm sure he'd be here," said Bill.

Percy looked doubtful. "It's a dark place. You know Ron hates to hide at dark places."

"Still…" Bill's voice trailed off. He looked at the direction of the piles boxes then looked up at the ceiling. "I sure hope he's not here. Those spiders could come down and minute," he said. Bill turned back to Percy. "Let's try the broom shed. I guess Ron wins this round. I do hope we find him before Mum finds out we couldn't." The two boys disappeared.

Ron grinned upon the thought of winning the game. He looked at his arms. There were two deep cuts on them. He kicked off the rest of the broken mirror and stood up from under the pile of boxes. As he did, those at the top came tumbling down on him, causing him to fall back to the floor.

"There's someone in the attic!" Fred and George appeared. "I thought Bill and Percy came to check here already. Ronnie, are you here?" Ron scowled upon hearing his name. He didn't answer them. Fred looked at George uncertainly. "I swear, George. I heard something rumble up here." He looked at the direction of the boxes and grinned. "Say George, do you remember how one of the _big _spiders came down from the ceiling?" he asked.

George looked at his brother, and then smiled, catching the joke. "Oh yeah, I remember that. I thought that big spider was going to eat me. If it wasn't for Dad, I would've been in the spider's tummy right about now," he said, rather cheerfully.

"Ron's not here. Whoever made that noise would be eaten up because he woke the spiders!" exclaimed Fred. "Come on now, George. We don't want to be part of the spiders' meal today, do we? Let's go one and look for Ron." He pulled his brother out of the attic and their steps were loud as they went down the stairs.

Ron gulped. "Spiders?" he whispered in the tiniest voice. He looked around but found none. He took a deep breath and stood up from the pile of boxes. Brushing his arms on his pants, he looked at the mess he had created. "Mum's going to kill me," he muttered. He looked at the pieces of broken mirror. "What am I going to do wi-" he stopped and the color on his face suddenly drained. A huge spider glared back at him. "SPIDERS!" he yelped.

_Scorpius looked at the broken mirror. "It's a spider's reflection," he muttered. He looked above him and saw a tiny spider looking back. "He thought he saw a huge spider that was staring back at him." He looked at Rose who was staring at her father unbelievingly. She was obviously trying to suppress some laughter._

_The black scene came around them. Rose looked about. "It's over already?" she asked as she looked at Scorpius's direction. __Scorpius bit his lower lip and shrugged. Rose looked back at Ron who was running around the room, frantic. "Dad has a knack of taking out the very worst of his memories, I think," she said grudgingly for she had hoped to see more. _

_"Wait," said Scorpius. __He paused and looked around. "It's coming back. He must've just taken out a part of it for some reason." Scorpius ran towards the side where color was starting to appear. "Look, it's your father over there!" he shouted and pointed to the little boy who ran towards the large green and old-looking closet. _

Ron sweated all over. "Don't eat me!" Tears streamed down his face. "Please oh please don't eat me!" He frantically grabbed the handle of the closet and swung it open. "AAAHHH!" he yelled. A very large spider stood before him with its three big eyes and furry legs. Ron staggered backwards and fell to his back. "Mummy! Daddy! HELP!" Still with bloody arms and fingers, he used them to carry his weight as he backed away from the very large spider.

_"Scorpius! Help him!" cried Rose._

_Scorpius looked at her. "This is only a memory. I cannot even touch him." He looked at the direction of the spider. For some reason, he felt something strange and calm about it. Rose grabbed onto his shirt. "Calm down, Rosie!" said Scorpius, trying to pull away from her tight grasp. He did try, though it was to no avail for Rose had tightly grabbed his shirt. "Rose…this…is…only…a…memory!" said Scorpius. _

Ron cried as he backed away from the huge spider. His heart pounded fast. The sweat on his temple dropped to the ground. His contorted face was colorless as the sight of the huge spider which neared him even more. Ron, without any more options, curled himself up and sobbed, apparently ready to be eaten by the creature.

""Ron!" Ron looked up and saw Bill standing behind him.

CRACK!

Ron looked ahead and saw that the spider had gone. It had suddenly turned to a lonely Bill looking very sad. "Ridikulous!" roared Bill pointing his wand at it. He made a dive for the boggart and shoved it back into the closet. Panting, he looked at Ron. "Don't tell Mum or Dad I took out that wand," he said as he sat on the floor looking pale and tired.

Ron blinked. "What was that?" he asked shakily.

"A boggart," replied Bill. "It's meant to change into something you're afraid of. I never knew you were afraid of spiders though." He stood up and looked at Ron's cuts. "What happened to you? You better go down to Mum now. She's going mad trying to look all over the house for you. You sure did keep quiet up here. No one noticed," he said.

Ron looked at Bill as his brother helped him stand up. "Why did the boggart made you look lonely?" he asked innocently. Bill didn't reply and by the look of his face, Ron knew his brother wanted to dismiss his question. "I never want to see a spider as big as that ever again. Not in my life, nu-uh," he said childishly. He and his brother went down the stairs hand in hand.

Bill laughed. "I see," was all he said.

Fred appeared as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "Where have you been?" he asked Ron with a grin. "I hope you were not in the attic where _spiders_ could've eaten you," he said in a taunting manner. George came out from the bathroom. Fred turned to him. "Hey George, we've finally found Ronnie here," he announced.

Bill raised his eyebrow. "You knew Ron was in the attic?" Fred didn't reply. Bill suddenly let go of Ron's hand. "You knew that Ron was in the attic and you didn't tell me? What if he seriously got hurt up there, Fred? Do you think it was funny?" He looked at Fred and George seriously. "If Mum finds about this she is going to throw a fit, I tell you. Ron's too little to be played on like that."

"Found out what?" Fred turned. Bill and Ron looked up to see Molly walking towards them. "Ron, look at you." She examined her son. "Why are you bleeding? Where did your cuts come from? Where have you been? I was calling you. Why weren't you answering? You know better. You scared me half to death!" she exclaimed. She looked at Bill. "Young man, you were supposed to look after them. Explain right now," she snapped.

Bill looked at Fred and George grudgingly then back at his mother. "I found him hiding in the attic. I don't know where he got the cuts from. I tried looking up there but didn't find him the first time I went to see. Charlie was there too and so was Percy, but Ron didn't make a sound. When I found him, I brought him down here immediately," he explained.

"I heard a crack up there, Bill, as if someone did magic," said Molly suspiciously. She shifted her eyes to his wand which was poking out from his pocket. Bill bit his lower lip. "I expected better from you, William Weasley. Now you take the twins and get them ready for lunch. I will tend to Ron and then have a serious talk with you. You know better than to whip out your wand!" she scolded.

Ron looked at his mother. "There was a boggart, Mum," he said innocently.

"Of course there was a boggart. I know of that boggart in the attic," said his mother. She turned to Fred and George. "I know you two have something to do with this. I want you to explain right now or you'll face a more serious punishment than you are already in for."

George shot a dirty look at Ron. "He was just a scaredy cat. All Fred mentioned was about a giant spider and he wasn't supposed to get scared. We meant it for him to come out if ever he was there. It's not the reason for him to go scared like that. Besides, Fred just had a hunch that he was in there. We left when no one reacted so we figured out he wasn't there," he said.

"A lame excuse, George. I know that you were so sure that Ron was there," she said firmly. "I'll deal with you two later." She turned to Ron. "What happened to you? Where did you get those deep cuts? Boggarts don't naturally hurt anyone…" Ron pursed his lips. "What is it that you're not telling me, Ronald?" she asked.

Ron looked at her. "I broke a mirror," he confessed.

Molly raised her eyebrow. "What mirror?" she asked. Ron shrugged. Molly thought for a moment. "I don't remember stuffing a mirror there." She smiled softly at Ron. "Oh, if there is any up there, it might be one of those things that I wanted to throw away. You know, Muggle things that your father insists on keeping." She shook her head and took Ron's hand. "Come on, Ron. We'll fix those cuts of yours right now while they're still fresh."

George muttered something. He turned to Fred and shrugged. Bill looked at his mother and little blankly, feeling upset that he got the blame even if he did nothing but save his little brother. The three of them went back upstairs to their rooms. Doors were slammed shut.

"What did your boggart turn into, Ron?" asked Molly calmly as he sat Ron on a stool. She levitated some bandages and two band-aids and some medicine and brought it closer to them.

"A spider," muttered Ron bitterly.

Molly smiled at him. "That's all right. Many wizards are scared of spiders but they refuse to admit it." She pressed a cotton to his cuts on his arm and wrapped them with bandages. It stung a little, but Ron refused to squirm. Molly calmly pressed another cotton on his little fingers. This time, Ron squirmed. Molly pulled him still. "Sit properly," she hissed.

Ron suddenly blurted out, "I hate spiders!"

Molly nodded understandingly. "I'm sure you do."

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

I'm more than a witches pet  
I am more than a beast  
I know that I hide in shadows  
But there's a little light in me  
I know you fear meI know you fear me  
Fear my home and fear my hands  
Soon you'll feel me  
Have reason to fear me  
Scared 'cause you don't understand  
_**-Spaced Out**__**-**_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_"I should have known Uncle George was behind Dad's fear," said Rose. She turned to Scorpius who looked very much amused. She gave him a little push. "Oh now you're enjoying it, aren't you? Thrilling?" she asked. Scorpius just grinned. The color faded and another memory came into view. _

**A/N: Again, thanks for the reviews you've given me. I really appreciate it and it helps a lot. I want to thank the people who've been giving encouraging PMs too, and to those who put this story on Alerts and Faves. **

** Please review!  
**

**NEXT CHAPTER: Father and Son**


	5. Father and Son

**A/N**: **This is an important author's note. I am not the author of this story. The author who has been writing this story is very sick at the moment and I'm afraid will not be coming out from the hospital for a couple of months or so. Oh, and by the way, this is her cousin. There are some good news and bad news for you. Let's start with the bad news first. **

**Bad news is: I am not the author of this story and I am in no power in altering the chapters. I am bad at writing for one, and I guess I will ruin her lot if I do. So there.**

** There is no more sequel to this story after this finishes unless she gets out of the hospital and start writing again.**

**Good news is: I am privileged to be the one to upload all her files thrice a week or twice if I am busy for the week (requested by her)**

** She has already finished writing this story before she entered the hospital, thus this story is actually completed. (She said she didn't want to leave it undone, so there you are.)**

**I will be editing the author's notes because she will be responding to your reviews because she requested me to print out your reviews (and please do) and show it to her. This means that she will see your reviews. I will post her replies and responses here if you don't mind. **

**My cousin knew that she was about to enter the hospital before writing this and she said this is her last story for fan fiction. I remember she was up many nights trying to finish this and she really worked hard on this piece. She liked and she enjoyed it with you guys very much. She says to say thank you to all the reviewers and the ones who put this on their favorites and alerts. She said she's really sorry, but this will be her last story until she gets out of the hospital.**

**Author waves hi to everyone and says that she hopes you enjoy the rest of the story. **

_"It'__s Dad's room," said Rose when she looked up. Scorpius looked around. It was barely a room compared to his. There was only one bed and one closet. He looked up to see a hole on the ceiling. He wasn't too sure about it, but he thought he saw a ghoul. __Rose looked at the side and found Ron sitting on one corner of the room. "Look, Dad's there," she said, pointing to him. __Rose and Scorpius both stood up and walked over to him. _

"Zoom! Zoom!" Little Ron played with a miniature toy broom. The tip was already broken and it looked very old, but Ron looked happy playing with it. "Zoom! The Chudley Cannons win! Their Seeker gets the Snitch! It's over! Chudley Cannons win!"

_Rose smiled. "Dad had always been the Chudley Cannon fan I see," she said. Scorpius smiled back and nodded. Rose crouch__ed__ down to his level.__ "Look at him. He's very delighted at the toy broom," she said. She looked at the toy Ron was holding. "It looks very old. Maybe it belonged to one of his older brothers," she said. She tried to touch Ron's head. "Poor Dad…"__ Someone walked into the room. Rose and Scorpius turned to see __Percy_

Percy had a wide smile on his face. "Hey Ron, what have you been playing?" he asked Ron held up his toy broom. Percy chuckled. "I thought I lost that thing already. Maybe Mum meant it for you so she placed it here." He held out his hand. "It's time for us to go to lunch now. Mum's been calling for you," he said.

Ron looked at his older brother. "Percy, do you think I can have another one of these for my birthday?" he asked. "I need to more so that I could see the Holyhead Harpies lose. The Chudley Cannons will always win." Ron smiled happily at Percy. "I'm turning five soon. I bet Mum and Dad has a big surprise for me," he said hopefully.

Percy just smiled. "We'll see," he replied. "Now come on, it's time for lunch. Mum would kill me if I don't bring you down soon" Ron took Percy's hand and stood up, bringing his toy broom with him. "I hope you don't get your hopes up too high though," he murmured, but it seemed that the happy little boy didn't hear it as they trotted down the stairs. "What would you like for your birthday other than the toy broom?" asked Percy.

Ron thought for a moment. "Socks," he replied. He held up his feet. "I got cold last winter because I didn't have them. I tore them when I was running down the stairs. If I don't get my toy broom, maybe I'll just have to ask for socks."

Percy looked delighted at his answer. "That's practical. Very good, Ron."

_Rose laughed. "Typical Uncle Percy being practical," she said as she and Scorpius followed the two boys to the dining room. __"Why socks? He could've asked for shoes anyhow. Shoes would be more practical to wear," she said, concerned. She turned to Scorpius. "Don't you think so?"_

_Scorpius shrugged. "It depends I guess," he replied. He looked at Ron's bare feet. "I think it would be nice to have socks while walking about the house. __Shoes will just make it dirty and harder to clean. __Taking care of all the kids is hard enough for your grandmother." He looked at Molly who was busy getting __Ginny to sit on her chair. "But I think shoes will be nice if Ron can have them. __It does keep your feet very warm if that's what he intends the s__hoes__ to do."_

Ron sat on his chair. "I'm turning five soon," he announced as he took the spoon and fork into his hands. "Mum, I'm turning five soon," he said again when his mother seemed to pass him by without listening to what he said.

Molly turned to him. "I know, Ron. You've been at that since last week. A few more days and you'll finally be a big boy." Ron nodded eagerly. Fred and George snickered. Molly threw a warning look at them. "Tease your brother about this and the pair of you will definitely eat vegetables and beans for the whole month."

Fred and George didn't say a word as they both started to eat. Percy looked at his mother. "Mum, I'm going off to Hogwarts soon too," he reminded her. Molly nodded with a smile as she helped Ginny eat her meal. "I'll be a very good boy in school, you see. I'll be a prefect too and maybe a Head Boy. You'll see me with those badges one day, Mum," he said confidently.

"Percy the suck up," muttered Fred. Percy threw a dirty look at him. "You haven't even entered Hogwarts yet. Besides, playing Quidditch is much better than being a prefect. You get to have all the action. All the prefect does is boringly walk down the halls and stopping the fun the rest of the students could have. Prefects are nothing but suck ups," he pointed out.

Molly looked at Fred. "I'd be happy if you lot became prefect. It means that we send you off and you're doing something that will tell your father and me that we didn't make the wrong choice in not home-schooling you," she said.

"See?" said Percy, looking triumphant.

Ron looked at Molly. "What if I become prefect?" he asked.

"Then I'd be happy too," replied Molly. Ginny squirmed in her seat. "Oh keep still, Ginny. It's just a vegetable. You don't have to squirm like that," she said. Ginny had her mouth shut tight when Molly tried to feed her the vegetables. "Ginny!" Molly scolded.

George leaned over to Ron. "Good for Ginny. She's got a strong sense of conviction, that girl," he joked. Ron nodded. Every one of the Weasley children disliked vegetables, but their mother forced it down their throats at every meal. "If she wasn't the little sister of ours, I bet Mum would've chucked her out of the window right now. Look at Mum go red!"

"I heard that, George. You try feeding your sister and you'll see," she snapped.

George frowned. "She doesn't like being fed…"

"…with vegetables," Fred finished. It was the last straw.

Molly glared at the both of them. "Vegetables for a month, the two of you," she said sternly. Fred was about to protest when Molly interrupted him. "One more word and I will make sure it will be a year," she threatened. It worked for Fred didn't open his mouth to argue again. "Good," murmured Molly and turned back to her daughter.

Just then, a knock came to the door. Molly stood up and answered it. Arthur came into the room. "Dad!" exclaimed Ron. He jumped up from his sea and ran to his father. Chuckling, Arthur hoisted up the little boy and threw his up to the air. He caught the child and placed him back down on the ground. Ron looked at his father and held up five fingers. "I'm turning five soon," he reminded Arthur.

Arthur ruffled his hair. "I know that very well, son," he replied. Ron couldn't help but grin. Arthur walked over and carried Ginny from her chair. "How's my little princess doing?" Ginny smiled. A grain of rice came out from her mouth. Arthur wiped away the sauce from her upper lip. "You're growing up too fast, aren't you? Soon enough I wouldn't be able to carry you anymore either," he said and placed her back down to her chair.

"Welcome home, Dad," said Percy.

Fred smiled at Arthur. "Are you going to take us to the park again, Dad? Today's Saturday and you promised to take us there. George and I have been waiting for you all day. Ron asked if he could come too," he said.

Arthur looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, Fred, but I have to go to the office again today. Maybe next Saturday, all right?" Fred looked very much disappointed. He had been waiting all morning for his father to arrive. He stood up. "Dad, you promised me three Saturdays ago. This is the fourth Saturday that you're putting off going to the park. You even told you me I'd have a go on the broom today," he said willfully.

"Your father has work," snapped Molly. "Work comes before play. Now you sit back down and eat your meal. I want it finished."

Fred scowled. "You never keep your promises." He turned and stomped up the stairs.

George watched his brother go. "Can I go up with him?" he asked, looking at his mother. "I think he's really sad about it." Molly nodded tiredly. George put down his spoon and fork and went after his twin brother. Both of them had always been like this. They rarely separated, which was sometimes a good and a bad thing at the same time.

Ron looked sullen. "I wanted to go to the park too," he said in a small voice, which made Arthur feel even guiltier than he already is. Molly was about to say something, but Arthur held up his hand.

"Why don't you come outside with me for a moment, Ron? Let's have a man to man talk, shall we? You're turning five soon, which means you get to be bigger. I want to trust you more like I trust your older brothers." Ron smiled. Arthur took his hand. "Come on, then."

_"Your grandfather was really a good dad," said Scorpius as he observed Arthur's methods of calming down his son. "I wish my dad was like that. He rarely lets me in on anything. He rarely talks to me in the first place because he's always busy at work."_

_Rose looked at him thoughtfully. "It's all right. Your dad is still your dad." She followed Arthur and Ron out to the backyard. "Now I know why Dad loves to take me out to the garden every time we needed to talk. It's calming that way," she said. Scorpius looked at her blankly. He never had one-on-one talk with his father to know the feeling. _

"I'm proud of you for being a good boy every time I'm away," started Arthur. Ron beamed proudly. "I know I haven't been around the house much lately and I come home late to find all you boys sleeping. I do want to take all of you the park, from Bill down to Ginny. I want to see all of you enjoy it there. But sometimes, work just has to be the top priority. You know what priority means?" Ron shook his head. "Priority means it has to be the first. You know as much as your older brothers do that we're not as well off right? That's why I have to keep you working so that you could have something to wear, to eat," he explained.

Ron nodded, as if understanding what his father said. "Okay," he replied. Arthur smiled at his son. "But you do promise to take me the park before I go to Hogwarts, right?" he said. Arthur laughed and nodded as he held up his right palm. Ron threw his arms around his father. "I can't wait to go to the park!" he exclaimed happily.

"I know, Ron," said Arthur.

Ron's face suddenly turned serious, as if thinking deeply of something. He looked at his father with a serious face, which made him look even more adorable than he already is to Arthur. "Dad, if I become prefect, would you be happy?" he asked.

"Of course," answered Arthur. "Who wouldn't want their son to become a prefect? I'll be very much delighted." He crouched down to Ron's level. "But other than being prefect, I want you to become you. I know being the youngest boy can be a tough job, always the last, always getting the things your brothers grew out of. I understand it and I'm at fault, I know. I want you to get the best of everything. No matter what happens, Ron, I want you to stay who you are."

Ron looked uncertain. "But what if I do badly at school, Dad?" he asked.

"You won't as long as you do your best," Arthur assured him. "It's a long way for you from here yet. You won't be off to Hogwarts in six years. Don't worry about being prefect yet. Don't worry about anything of Hogwarts yet." Arthur touched Ron's nose. "I just want you to know who you are first before going off," he said.

Ron smiled broadly. "I'm Ronald Bilius Weasley," he said proudly.

Arthur nodded. "I bet you are." He scooped up his young son and threw him up to the air again. Ron raised his hands as if trying to touch the clouds. "Reach for the sky, Ron. No matter what, dream big. If you fall back down," Arthur caught his son in midair, "I'll be here to catch you." Ron turned and smiled at his father. "What would you like to have for your birthday?" he asked.

Ron smiled and said without hesitation, "Toy broom like the one Percy has!" Arthur discreetly broke as said when he heard it. Ron's face eased. "But I can have socks." He raised his feet a little. "I get cold feet every time Christmas comes around and I hate getting cold feet," he explained.

Arthur laughed. "Me too," he replied. He cuddled Ron close to him. 'You are so comical sometimes," he muttered. He turned around and carried his son towards the house. "Now why not we have our lunch now? I am a bit hungry, aren't you?" Ron nodded eagerly as the father and son entered the house through the back door.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

I was once like you are now, and I know that it's not easy,  
To be calm when you've found something going on.  
But take your time, think a lot,  
Why, think of everything you've got.  
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not.  
_**-Cat Stevens-**_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_Scorpius felt a pang of jealousy right at that moment. __He had never had such n easy-going father who occasionally threw him in the air and caught him when he was a child. __All he remembered about his toddler days were being __played with his father who seemed very uninterested to do so, though there were times that he enjoyed being with him as well, but it wasn't as joyous as it seemed to be in the case of the Weasleys. _

_"We're going to another memory now," said Rose as he felt her surroundings darken. _

**A/N: Please review. I'm sure to print out the page of reviews and show it to her.  
**

**NEXT CHAPTER: Give Love**


	6. Give Love

**NOTES: Everything I sent were the exact words of the author. I have individually replied your reviews for some of them seem personal and long. I am sorry for those some who did not receive a reply from her. I couldn't go visit her because of my schedule lately and I have already printed out the first batch of reviewers. I hope you understand but I bet she'd be happy when I include your names on the next chapter when I give her the next set of reviews. Below is an author's note dictated by the author herself. No alteration**** had been made. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: I just wanted to thank you all for reviewing. I had never gotten this much review for my first few chapters before and I'm really grateful for you guys who have been so supportive of me. I also want to thank those who have been very much concerned about me. I was really touched by some of your replies on private Message and I just want to say that you've all been great, not just as reviewers, but as friends. I hope that you continue to enjoy my story and review after you have read it. For those who have placed this story on alerts and favorites, you have all my thanks! I hope you review this one too. Thanks.  
**

_Scorpius glanced at the outside the window and saw snow falling. "I think it's Christmas," he said. Rose nodded when she saw a pile of small boxes. The both of them walked into the living room and found the twins sleeping on the rug with a blanket over them. Scorpius looked to his side and saw Bill poking at the fireplace. Percy was reading a book while Charlie looked bored. "Look, it's your dad and Ginny," Scorpius suddenly said when he saw them playing Wizard's Chess. _

_Rose looked delighted. "Dad's the best a Wizard's Chess!" she squealed. She went to them and sat down to watch the game. "Look here, Scorpius, my Dad's winning," she said happily as she pointed to the chess board. Scorpius peered over at the game. Rose looked at him. "No one can beat my Dad at this. He's got great logic," she said. _

_"I heard," replied Scorpius. He studied the Weasley children. They were all clothed with the same battered clothes, but none of them seemed to be shivering from the cold. He looked around and saw that the house was still the same Burrow they had been seeing. He looked back at the boys and Ginny and wondered if they were feeling cold. He spotted Ron with seemingly new socks and smiled. His parents must've found a way to get him the socks. _

_Rose looked calmly at Ron. "Dad's grown an inch, I guess," she observed. "Look at his face. He's beginning to look a lot like Grandpa." She smiled and shifted her eyes back to the game. "Auntie Ginny's dead. Dad's got her. It's going to be checkmate at any rate. No matter what move she makes," she said as she studied to situation. _

"Checkmate," said Ron. He looked up and grinned at Ginny who was frowning. "I told you that you still wouldn't get the better of me even if you practice." Ginny frowned even harder. Ron stood up. "You won't be able to beat me at this for ages, Ginny," he bragged and stuck his tongue out at his younger sister whose lower lip started to quiver. "Don't give me that look," said Ron when he was sure that Ginny was about to give him the waterworks.

Charlie looked at them sideways. "Now you've made her cry, Ron," he said. He looked at his toes. "What time will Mum and Dad come home, Bill? We've been waiting for ages! At this rate, we'll freeze to death before we eat our Christmas dinner," he said.

Bill gazed at the fireplace. "Do you think they'll come through the Floo Network?" he asked. Charlie shrugged. Bill turned his attention to the sleeping twins. "At least we don't have to worry about them causing any mischief while Mum and Dad are away. They're like angels when they sleep, silent." Fred turned. George kicked their blanket off of them. Bill looked at Ron and Ginny. "You both ought to be sleeping to, you know," he pointed out.

"No way," Ron answered defiantly. "I'm big enough to wait for Mum and Dad to come back home without sleeping. Ginny's not sleeping either." By now, Ginny had stopped making her sympathetic look about losing. "Let's have another go while we're waiting for Mum and Dad," Ron suggested as he fixed the chess board again.

Percy yawned. "What time is it anyway?" he asked.

Bill looked at his watch. "Nearing eleven." Percy sighed heavily and went back to reading his book. Bill threw his head back and fixed his flaming red hair. "They'll be back soon. I bet they're probably on their way. They always come by later than we expect." He looked at his brothers. "Hey, why not we play a game while they're away?" he asked.

Charlie's face lit up. "What game?" he asked.

Ron stood up. "I'm in for it." He looked at Ginny cheerily. "Come on, Ginny. What game, Bill? What gave did you have in mind?" Ron had always loved games, no matter what it was. Ginny stood up as well. "We should wake up Fred and George. They'd like to be in the game too," he said as he looked at his twin brothers who were still asleep.

"We are _not_ going to wake them up," said Bill firmly so that Ron won't argue about it anymore. "We're going to play a quiet game. How about Hang the Dragon?" he asked. Ron frowned and shook her head. Bill thought for a moment. "How about Tic Tac boom? You've always liked that game," Bill said, looking hopefully at Ron who again shook his head. Bill sighed. "What game do you want to play then?" he asked, trying to be patient.

Instead of Ron answering, Ginny piped up. "Why don't we play hide and seek?" she suggested. She looked playfully at Ron who seemed to like the idea. Bill shook his head. "Why?" Ginny asked, now getting a little irritated.

"We have to run all over the house and we won't spot Mum and Dad comes back," he reasoned. "We have to be here when they come through the door," he glanced back at the fireplace, "or the fireplace," he added. "Charlie, help me think of something," he urged. "Percy?"

Percy shook his head. "Not interested," he simply replied.

"What's happening?" Fred finally woke up. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. He looked to his side and saw George still sleeping. He gave George a playful punch on the arm. "Oi you sleepyhead. It's time to get up," he said. George turned without opening his eyes. He mumbled something, but it was evident that he was still asleep. "Little git," muttered Fred, but he didn't really mean it by the looks of his face.

Ron looked at Fred. "We're trying to think of a game to play while Mum and Dad are gone," he explained. "Mum and Dad aren't hope yet and we don't want to wait for ages doing nothing, do we? Any ideas for the game?"

"Oh no, Fred is not suggesting, is he?" said Percy, looking up from his book. He fixed his glasses at Fred. "If you do, do you mind suggesting a game that won't create too much noise? I'm trying to read, you see," he said.

Fred frowned. "You always do nothing but read," he pointed out. He stood up and pulled Percy from the couch, causing his brother to fall back. Percy stood up angrily. Fred gave him an impish grin. "Come on, Perce! If you want a tamer game, we can play something tame." Percy looked at Fred. He didn't trust Fred's definition of tame at all. "Let's go outside and ride brooms. Isn't that time enough for you?" he asked mischievously.

Ron looked excited. "Yeah, there's an idea. Good go, Fred!" he cheered.

"No we are not going out there," said Bill strictly. He looked at his brothers. "Look at your feet, your clothes. Do you think you'd last a minute in the biting cold out there?" Fred and Ron frowned at the same time. They didn't want to agree with Bill at all, though they both knew that what he said was true. "I told you we ought to stay inside and find a game all of us could agree with." He shifted his eyes to George who was still sleeping. "Aren't you going to wake him up?" Bill asked.

Fred shook his head. "Let him sleep. He's caught a cold," he explained. Ron looked at George thoughtfully. Fred turned back to Bill. "Then what are we ought to do? Wait here and be dull. I shouldn't have woken up," he grumbled.

"Go back to sleep then," Percy countered as he went back to reading his book. A smirk came to his face knowing that Fred wouldn't win over Bill at this point.

Ron thought for a moment. "Want to have a go at the Wizard's Chess?" he asked. Fred nodded for he had nothing else to do anyway. Ron sat back on the ground and arranged the chess board. He looked at Ginny. "You watch me and Fred play. In time, you'll be able to beat me. But I dare tell you it will be in ages," he warned.

Ginny squatted back to the floor and looked at her brothers as they started the game.

_Rose looked at George. "He does look ill, doesn't he?" she said. Scorpius nodded as he walked nearer to the sleeping boy. __Rose looked back at her father. "__Dad's got a__ cheerful disposition, I think." But she had a feeling that Ron was bitter when he was disallowed to ride the broom outside the house. __"Why do you think Grandma and Grandpa are taking so long? It must be midnight by now. She looked behind her and saw the dining room. "They all must be hungry."_

_Scorpius blinked. Christmas dinner had always been on time in his family, though they never talked as they ate, unlike the Weasleys. __Since he had not other brothers or sisters, he hadn't had any Christmas such as this. _

Suddenly, there was a loud crack outside. All the Weasley children stood up in attention. The front door swung open and outside stood Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Ron and Ginny ran to their parents. Bill smiled and so did Charlie and calmly walked over to them. Percy set aside his book and went to them as well. Fred shook George awake. George stirred and looked up. He blinked once before sitting up. He stood when he saw his parents and the twins gave their mother and father a hug last among all the children.

_"Are you always like this?" Scorpius asked. "I mean your family."_

_Rose looked at him. "Hugging?" she asked. Scorpius nodded. Rose smiled. "Why of course. You ought to hug your parents when they come home, don't you?" Scorpius didn't reply. His parents never do hug him whenever they come home. __"Why you ask that? Don't you ever embrace your parents?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Scorpius. _

_"No," replied Scorpius quietly. _

Arthur carried his daughter into his eyes. "Sorry we're late," he said. Ginny laughed as Arthur tickled her. He looked at his sons. "Now let's have dinner, shall we? You all must be famished by now." All the boys nodded. Arthur laughed. "What are you waiting for then? Let's run off to the dining room," he said as the boys took the lead and raced to their chairs around the table.

"What's for dinner?" asked Fred.

George sniffed. "Mum, I've got a cold."

"I'll hand you a tonic later, George. Percy, do you mind helping your sister with her plate?" said Molly.

Ron looked at his father. "I'm hungry."

"I'm sure you are son," replied Arthur as he passed a plate to Ron.

"Mum, Ginny won't take her plate," Percy complained.

Bill looked sideways. "Oh let her get it herself. She likes to be independent," he pointed out.

Charlie grabbed a piece of the chicken and took a bite. "It tastes great, Mum," he said.

"Thank you, Charlie," said Molly.

Arthur looked at Bill. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to pick you up from the station," he said apologetically. "I'm glad you and Charlie came on time for Christmas dinner. I thought you decided to stay at Hogwarts for dinner this year."

"Never," said Bill, taking a scoop of mash potato and shoving it into his mouth.

Molly smiled at him as she passed the peas to Charlie. "That's good to hear," she said. Charlie took the bowl of peas and passed it to his father. "Everyone takes two scoops of those peas," said Molly as she watched her boys place the peas into their plates. "I saw that George. I said two scoops. Go on, have one half scoop more."

Arthur looked at Bill. "I heard you're doing well. In no time, you'll be made prefect, you'll see," he said. Bill beamed at Arthur. Arthur turned to Charlie. "And congratulations for making it to the Gryffindor team. Your mother and were thrilled when we heard about it." He gave Charlie a thump on the back proudly. "That is the Weasley spirit we're talking about. We have a prefect in the making and a Seeker in the family," he said.

Bill flushed. "I'm not a prefect yet," he reminded his father.

"Oh you'll seen be Bill," said Molly confidently.

"Passhdapeashpeash," said Ron as he chewed his food.

Molly looked at him. "Don't talk when your mouth is full." Ron blinked, but Molly passed him the bowl of peas. "Though I'm happy that you're eating the vegetables tonight. You'll grow up very tall, you'll see," she said as Ron took the bowl from her and poured the rest of its remains onto his plate. "Ginny, eat yours," she said, giving her a warning look.

George came in defending his sister saying, "Cut her some slack, Mum. It's Christmas."

_Scorpius looked at the Weasleys as they ate. All of them weren't dressed properly for a cold day and he figured that Bill and Charlie were cold when they came home from the train, but none of them were complaining. __All of the happily had dinner and none of them talked about their parents being late and making them wait for so long, not even the twins who looked cheerful as they ate their dinner. He felt his green-eyed monster coming up. _

_"Scorpius," whispered Rose. Scorpius turned and looked at her. "Are you all right?" __Rose asked. Scorpius couldn't say no. __He couldn't explain how he can be envious of this family when they had so little. All he could do was nod. Rose smiled at him. "Christmas had always been fun when we gather up for this party. It's like this too," she said and looked back at the table, "but now there are more since all of them are grown and married and they have us." _

"It's time to open the gifts"," announced Molly. All the children scrambled to their feet and ran to the living room excitedly. Molly and Arthur exchanged happy looks as the children gathered by the fireplace. "The youngest gets to open their gifts first," she said. "Go on, Ginny. You open yours. Happy Christmas, Dear," she said.

Ginny smiled back at her mother. "Happy Christmas!" She went through the boxes and found one for her. She slowly opened it. She held up a coat, looking very much second-hand. She smiled and ran to her mother. She threw her arms around her. "Mum! You got me this! Thank you!" she exclaimed and embraced her mother tighter.

_"But it's an old coat!" Scorpius finally blurted out. Rose looked at him calmly. Scorpius looked sorry. "I didn't mean to, but…" his voice trailed off as he looked at the joy on Ginny's face when she received the coat. "It's just an old coat and…"_

_Rose's heart warmed at the scene. "All of them have the same hand-me-downs. I looked through Dad's old school things once. He never had anything new. __They weren't as well-off as they are now. __Most of the time, they had to pass down their clothes once one of them grow out of it. Dad's always been the last to get the clothes which means he usually wears everything his brothers had already worn," she explained. "Even school robes."_

"Go on, Ron, it's your turn," said Arthur. He watched as his son looked through the box. Ron found a long on. Arthur looked at Ron cheerfully. "I think you'll like yours very much as Ginny did hers," he said, knowing his son very well.

Ron tore open the package. His eyes widened. "Chudley Cannons' poster!" he shouted excitedly. He looked up at his father. "You're the best, Dad. This is the best gift ever!" His eyes glistened as he looked at the team player fly around the small frame. He clutched it to his chest. "I'm going to put this on my wall, that's for sure," he said.

"Can I see?" said Charlie. Ron handed the poster to his brother. "Whoa, this is the best, Ron." He gave the poster back to Ron.

Fred looked at him with a smile. "Good for you, little bro."

Ron looked at his mother. "I'm going up to pin this, can I? I'll promise to come back down afterwards. I can't wait to pin it upstairs. Please, Mum?" Molly smiled at him and nodded. Ron jumped with excitement. He couldn't help but smile from ear to ear as he tightly held the Christmas gift on his hands. "Thanks, Mum! Happy Christmas! You're the best."

"Happy Christmas," replied Molly. "I love you, Ron."

Ron smiled even wider. "I love you too, all of you."

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Why don't you give love on Christmas day (on Christmas day)  
Even the man who has everything  
Would be so happy if you could bring  
Him love on Christmas day (on Christmas day)  
No greater gift is there than love  
_**-Jackson 5-**_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_Ron danced around the room. Scorpius watched. "But that doesn't cost more than three Knuts__, does it? You can find that anywhere around and it isn't anything special,__" he said as he studied Ron's most delighted face. "I don't really understand this," he muttered. "How could he be so happy with something so…common?" he asked_

_Rose watched as Ron headed for the stairs. "This one's over," she said. She looked at Scorpius. "That's the magic of Christmas, having your family with you__, to know that they love you__. That's what makes the moment the happiest__ and special__," she said as everything went blank again. _

**A/N:**** Please review this. I might post the next up the last days of the week. **

**NEXT CHAPTER: ****Unbreakable Vow**


	7. Unbreakable Vow

**A/N: Got nothing from her for you guys this time around, but I do hope you read and review. I still print them out for her. **

_"I'm getting a major headache," complained Scorpius. "I haven't seen this part of the house. What is it?" he asked as many odd things surrounded him. There was a tin can that sat on the desk. Many odd devices surrounded it. __He neared the desk and observed the instruments. "Rose, do you have any idea what these things are?" he asked._

_Rose looked at the tools. "Oh, those are Muggle things," she replied. "Grandpa loves collecting them. Grandma said Grandpa used to drive her mad about these things, but she gave in after a while. Grandpa has a strong obsession with it." She walked closer to Scorpius and studied the tools. Some of them seemed peculiar and some of them were things she usually found lying around the house. Her mother still kept her Muggle way from time to time. _

_Scorpius looked around. Everything he saw looked very odd to him. __His parents disliked the Muggles and discouraged him to go near anything Muggle, but Merlin knows Scorpius couldn't resist since he always hung around his best friend Rose who had the same interest as her grandfather and same curiosity as her father. _

"What are you doing in here?" hissed Fred, looking sideways at Ron. "Get out of here before anyone sees us. I swear I'm going to kill you if Mum finds out we're here." He looked very stern with Ron, but Ron knew that Fred couldn't do more than smack his head, which he was sort of used to after the many times Fred had done it to him.

George shoved past Ron and crouched down beside Fred. "How do you think that thing works?" he asked his twin, pointing to the tin can. Fred shrugged. George looked back at Ron. "You better get out of here or I swear to Merlin that I'll remember this day and I'll never forgive you and hex you when I get the chance." George looked very serious. He hadn't in a very long time. This made Ron back up a bit. He did not want to see George angry.

"Get out of here," warned Fred.

Ron was about to stand up when they heard someone coming. George pulled him back down and clasped his hands to Ron's mouth. Without a struggle, Ron let the twins drag him behind a very large shelf. Being yet very small, they were unseen unless you looked at it closely.

"What were you thinking, Arthur Weasley? You could have caused us everything back there!" cried Molly as the both of them entered the room, Molly walking hysterically behind her husband. "How can you be so selfish and watch out for your interest. What do you want our children to be when they grow up? Beggars? Do you want them to finish Hogwarts or not? Or maybe you don't want them to have a future at all! Oh don't you give me that look, Arthur."

Arthur turned and calmly looked at his wife. "I'm just as worried as you are, my Dear. I will never jeopardize the children's opportunity in my life, never. I swear to Merlin that family is my top priority and not my interest. I would like to see all my boys and Ginny graduate from Hogwarts and make something out of themselves," he explained.

"These things," said Molly sternly as she looked around the room, "these things are the cause of our misery, Arthur. Don't you see that your obsession for Muggles cost us so much? Look around you," she said angrily. "I've tried to put up with you, Arthur. I don't know what else to do. I can't stand here and see my sons and Ginny suffering." She looked at Arthur in the eye. Her eyes suddenly softened when she saw the color drain out of her husband's face. "Oh Arthur, I'm sorry," she said, sighing. "I didn't mean to say all those. I…" her voice trailed off.

Arthur walked near to her and embraced her. "I know, Dear, I know. It's all right. Everything will be fine. I know everything will be fine. We have six healthy and smart boys and one happy girl. They'll be all right, Molly. We'll get by. Soon, they will be making a life for themselves and I'm sure they will do better than I did. They'll all graduate from Hogwarts, you'll see. They'll all be healthy and happy and well-off. Don't worry, Molly." Molly lifted her head and looked at Arthur. "They know so much tat we love them and I know I love them and will always do. I love my family and I'll do anything to keep them from suffering."

Molly calmed down. "I suppose so," she whispered. She wiped away the tears she had from her eyes. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Arthur. I didn't mean to. All of those I said…" She looked around at the Muggle things again. "They're not so bad and I know it's very interesting to you, these Muggle things." She looked at Arthur. "And I'm very proud to have you as the father of my children."

_Rose sniffed. "Isn't that sweet?" she whispered. Scorpius shrugged as he looked at the three boys sitting very still behind the shelf. Rose looked over to his father's direction. "I believe they're holding their breaths with the looks of their faces," she said. _

_Scorpius nodded. "Me too, but I guess they think it's better to hold their breath rather than face the wrath of their mother. I understand why she doesn't like them being around this room." __He could only imagine his mother's screams if she found him in a similar room, not to mention his father's anger. "How come your father keeps some bittersweet memories like these?" he asked curiously. "If I were him, I'd only keep those important happy memories."_

_"I guess it's to remind him about the life he had," she replied. "Besides, it's not bitter to know that your father loves you and wishes his children the best. __I'd want to keep a memory like this aliv__e too if it were me." She thought for a moment. "Don't you?" _

_Scorpius shrugged. "I honestly don't know."_

Arthur walked over to his table. He drew out his wand and set it by the tin can. "I think I'd like to stay here for a while," he said softly. "You know, blow off steam. Maybe I can have a game with the boys later afterwards? I don't have anything to do for the rest of the day." He turned to Molly. "I'll see you later at lunch, Dear."

Molly walked over to him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "All right then, I'll see you later." She walked out of the room, gently closing the door behind her.

Arthur turned back to the tin can. He held his wand and tapped it. Nothing happened. He sighed and grabbed a screwdriver beside it. He used the screwdriver to poke the tin can over and over again until it dented and Arthur smiled. He reached for the Philip screw and did the same as he watched the denting in a very amused fashion.

_"He sure does have some odd interests," said Scorpius as he observed Arthur poking the tin can even more. "It's no wonder Dad doesn't like me coming over here," he muttered, thinking that Rose wouldn't have heard it anyway. _

_Rose spun and glared at him. "Oh you think it's funny eh? I believe my grandfather was very special for liking Muggles. He treats everyone very kindly that way and never looks as any prejudices at all, unlike your grandfather, the way Dad told me about him," she said hotly, turning her attention back to Arthur who hadn't quite finished his poking. _

_Scorpius sighed. "I don't mean it that way, Rose. __I mean that your grandfather was just…" his voice faded as he wracked his brain for the right word, hoping to get their argument right. "Okay, I'__m sorry. You took my words out of context. My Dad didn't want me to go with you because of this, but obviously I disobey, don't I?" he said. _

_This seemed to calm Rose down, much to Scorpius's relief. "Look at what he's doing now."_

Arthur grabbed a hammer. He studied it for a moment before pounding it onto the tin can. It flattened immediately. Arthur bit his lower lip and raised his eyebrows. He looked around for more things to do with the tin can, hoping to find something that will return it back to normal. He took the saw and looked at it carefully. After a few seconds, he sawed right in the middle of the can.

"This isn't working," he murmured in frustration. He took his wand and pointed it at the tin can. "Reparo," he said calmly as the tin can assembled itself back to the way it was. Arthur ran his finger through his hair. He pushed aside all his tools, including his wand and buried his face on his arms looking very tired and upset.

_Rose looked at him caringly. "Poor Grandpa, it must be really hard for him right now." She walked over to his grandfather and tried to touch him. "I've always known my grandfather to be jolly and carefree. I've never seen him this sad before. I never knew he was this problematic before." She sighed as she tried to stroke his hair. "If only I could assure him that everything's going to be all right and all his children turned out fine."_

_Scorpius couldn't help but feel for him too. He had never seen a man so loving of his family and so long suffering. __He had seen Rose's grandfather from time to time and he seemed very pleasant, more __pleasant than Ron is. __As much as he wanted to help Arthur as of the moment, he knew that this was simply a memory and there was no way her could reach out to the man. _

"Arthur!" Arthur looked up. He stood up from his chair and headed for the door. Molly stood outside waving at him. "Arthur, come over here. Help me sort these gnomes out. I can't seem to find the boys. They must have gone somewhere, but I need help now."

Arthur smiled as he closed the door behind him. "Coming!"

The three boys scampered behind the shelf and let out a sigh of relief. "That was so close," said Fred. He looked at George. "Are you all right?" George nodded. Fred's eyes shifted to his younger brother. "How about you?" he asked. Ron nodded. Fred turned and looked at the place where his father sat. "I can't believe they're arguing about the same thing again. I though Bill said that it was over about that matter," he muttered.

"I know," said George. "I guess Dad doesn't tell Bill everything either. That or Bill doesn't want us to know about it." He looked at his father's table. "Look Fred, there's Dad's wand. He just left it on his desk," he said with a tone of voice that Ron had a feeling he wouldn't like.

Fred and George went over to the desk. Fred looked at it. "I can't wait for the time I'll be off to do magic myself," he said. His face lit up as he looked at his twin brother. "Hey, I have an idea," he said. He looked at Ron who gulped. "You'd like to help Mum and Dad, right?" Ron nodded eagerly. With Arthur's wand, Fred walked over to Ron. "I've read about this in one of Percy's books. It's called an Unbreakable Vow," he explained.

_"They're going to do the Unbreakable Vow?" said Rose, looking very much horrified. "They're not allowed to do that unless you've thought about it for a very long time! Besides, Uncle Fred and Uncle George shouldn't! They're underage and they're using Grandpa's wand. A lot of things can go wrong if they continue!"_

_Scorpius nodded. "It would go bad," he agreed. "I guess your father hasn't broken the bow yet though, seeing that you're here with me__ and he's more alive than ever, your father.__" Rose looked at him and smiled a bit. _

Ron raised his eyebrow. "So how can that help Mum and Dad?" he asked.

Fred clasped Ron's shoulders tightly. "George and I have a plan. One day, we're going to make our own joke shop. We're pretty good about jokes you know," he said. Ron had no doubt about it. "We're going to need someone to carry our plans for us, like a messenger of some sort, and owls are not very trust worthy for these things. Look at that Errol, the worthless owl. So I have a better idea that can help Mum and Dad. You promise to work for us until the end and we can pay them off for sending us to school."

"Why can't Ginny be on this vow too?" asked Ron innocently.

Fred's eyes sparkled. "She's too young."

George nodded. "Ginny's too young to understand, but you're old enough now." He held out his hand. "You're supposed to hold on to my hand." He looked at Fred. "You're sure you know how to cast that spell right?" he said. Fred nodded in assurance. George smiled at Ron. "You have to really mean what you promise or you'll die."

"I'll die?" Ron said in a squeaky voice, suddenly looking very unsure of what he and his brothers were about to do. He looked at Fred. "I don't think Dad will be too happy about us doing this," he said. "You shouldn't be holding his wand in the first place," he reminded him.

Fred frowned. "Do you want to be of help to Dad or not?" he asked irritably.

"I do, but-"

"Don't be a coward. We know what we're doing," interrupted George. "Now promise us that when you graduate out of Hogwarts you'll be working for us forever and not searching for another career. You'll always listen to us and you'll never say no to us. Promise us that you'll help us out so we could help Mum and Dad."

Ron nodded. "I prom-"

"What is going on here?" Arthur looked at his three sons. "Fred, why are you holding my wand and what are you boy-" His eyes narrowed as he fixed in on George and Ron's hands which were tightly gripping each other. "What are you trying to do? This looks like an Unbreakable Vow!" he exclaimed and walked over to the boys, looking very concerned.

"It is," admitted Ron, much to the twins' dismay.

Arthur quickly swiped the wand out of Fred's hands. Ron, in his entire life, had never seen his father look this angry. He looked at the twins very sternly as both of them hung their heads. For a moment Ron thought their father would blow and go mental. He could see Arthur's face redden and his hands shaking. It scared Ron to see their father look this angry.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT DAMAGE YOU COULD HAVE DONE?" roared Arthur. He shoved his wand into his robes and took the twins by the ear. "WHAT IF I HADN'T ENTERED THIS ROOM? DO YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO YOUR LITTLE BROTHER? HE WOULD BE DEAD! DO YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER RON DIES? YOU WILL LOSE A BROTHER! THIS ISN'T A PARNK AND BEING RON'S OLDER BROTHERS, YOU SHOULD KNOW A LOT BETTER. MURDER! THAT WAS WHAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE TO HIM! THE UNBREAKABLE VOW ISN'T A JOKE AND MERLIN KNOWS RON COULD BREAK HIS PROMISES AT THIS AGE. YOU ARE NEVER TO DO THIS STUNT AGAIN! NEVER! YOU ARE BOTH GROUNDED FOR FOUR MONTHS! YES, GEORGE, FOUR MONTHS! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO RON KNOWING THAT HE COULD DIE?_"_With so much rage, Arthur had forgotten to mention that all of them were underage as well.

The twins cowered on the spot. Ron began to cry. He didn't want to see his father getting so angry and upset more than he was the last time he saw him. Arthur twisted the twins' ears and both yelped in pain as he did. Ron watched as his father furiously dragged the twins out of the room as if forgetting that he was there at all.

With tears in his eyes, he said in a small voice, "I still promise that I'll help one day, Dad…" he said to himself.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

God has been so good  
Blessing me with a family  
Who did all they could  
And I've had many years of grace  
And it flatters me when I see a smile on your face  
I wanna thank you for what you've done  
In hopes I can give back to you  
And be the perfect son  
_**-Backs**__**treet Boys**_

_**-**_**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_"That was so sweet," whispered Rose. Scorpius agreed. Everything seemed to slowly darken. "Why does Dad keep erasing a lot of memories?__ It's unfair that he does. I don't get to see everything I want. He takes the good parts away__ and it's so not right to do so__. What do you think happens next?" she asked, looking at Scorpius's direction. _

_With a genuine smirk, Scorpius replied, "Why don't you ask him?"_

**A/N: ****Please review**

**NEXT CHAPTER: In Reality **


	8. In Reality

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait guys! I'm back! Hope you're still enjoying the story! Please review, thanks!**_  
_

_Rose slowly opened his eyes. "Where are we?" she whispered. The room was dark. She felt Goosebumps all over her. "Scorpius, are you there?" There was no answer. Rose felt her heart beating fast. "Scorpius, if this is a joke I am going to kill y-"_

_"Shh," hissed Scorpius as he pressed his ear to a door. "I can hear something from here. Come," he said. Rose neared him and did the same. They both heard very low whispers that they couldn't understand, although Rose could tell that one belonged to his grandfather because of the many times he spent her time with him. "Can you hear properly?" asked Scorpius. _

_Rose shook her head. "I only hear whispers," she replied. _

_"So do I," admitted Scorpius. __Suddenly, his ears perked up. "I think I've heard that voice from somewhere," he said. "Yes, I did hear that voice from somewhere. It's my grandfather, I think. He's talking with you grandfather." Rose and Scorpius exchanged excited glances. "Move closer, we might hear it if we do," he suggested._

_Rose looked at Scorpius. "Wait," she suddenly said, suddenly remembering why they were there in the first place. "This is Dad's memory, meaning he's here too." She looked around for any sign of her father, but she couldn't see anything in the dark. _

_Scorpius tugged Rose's shirt. "There," he whispered. He saw Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny all pressing their ears to the door. Percy looked at them disapprovingly, although he didn't say anything. Bill and Charlie looked nonchalantly, but Scorpius could tell that this was some interest by the conversation going on behind the door. This made Scorpius even more curious figuring that Bill wouldn't be too interesting in unimportant things. _

"You're stepping on my toe," hissed Percy. Fred looked back at him and lifted his feet. Percy slid it back nearer to him. "We shouldn't be listening to this. This is between Dad and Mr. Malfoy. It's nothing to us," he said to them.

Charlie glared at him. "Don't say that. It's our family on the line here. What if we end up never seeing each other again, would you like that?" Percy pursed his lips and didn't say another word. Charlie looked at the twins, Ginny, and Ron. "You could hear it clearly the same way if you stood with us over here," he said calmly. The four of them scrambled to their feet. "Just be quiet so that they won't hear us," he warned and shot a deadly look at the twins.

_"It's going to be heard from there. Come on," said Rose as she and Scorpius walked over to where the Weasley children gathered. Indeed the conversation was clearly heard from there. Rose looked at Scorpius uncertainly. She had a feeling that she didn't want to hear to conversation at all. _

_Scorpius could tell by Rose's face that she was worried. "Don't worry," Scorpius reassured her. "This is the past and nothing would ruin our friendship." __Rose's face eased. Scorpius smiled at her and turned back to the thick door in front of them from getting a clear view of what was really happening. But he wasn't about to complain, he could hear it perfectly well from the outside. _

"Funny you should say that," came Lucius Malfoy's voice. "I don't think you can even afford to have that done. Not that I am insulting you. But look at the robes your wife and children are wearing. They aren't even fit to wear their attire inside the house and I see them running around having those ratty clothes on. I do pity them, especially your wife. She could have married a better man, being in the Prewett family after all, she is," he said.

"And what's that to you, Malfoy?" said Arthur hotly. "Don't change the subject. I want to know whether or not Crouch allowed me on the loan. You know I need it to send Bill and Charlie off to Hogwarts. I'll even have to send Percy off there next year. You are toying with us, Malfoy, and I just know it. I don't want to go around in circles with you."

"I am not going in circles," replied Malfoy. "I am just pointing out that you should dress your family more properly. I hear that your oldest son is a prefect and your next boy is a Quidditch player. You don't want to see them walking around in old tattered robes, do you? I won't even let my son touch those filthy things like that." There was a moment of silence before Malfoy continued, "Besides, Crouch said no on the loan so you can kiss those Galleons goodbye."

Bill turned pale. "Crouch said no?" All his other siblings looked at him. Bill knew most about this since he was the eldest. "We're in a bit of a hot water boys." Ginny stared at him. "And girl," Bill added. "Without that loan I don't think we could ever go back to Hogwarts." Percy gasped. Charlie was taken back when he heard this. "Dad's been placing everything he has out and now we're out of luck." Bill tried to put on a straight face as he fought back a very sad look. "We're in for it."

"But how are we going to school?" asked Charlie suddenly. He didn't like the thought of being home-schooled by his mother. It would be a total disaster being Fred and George's classmates too. Most of all, he would miss playing Quidditch. Besides, he had a chance of being captain as soon as his current team captain graduates from Hogwarts.

_Rose's heart sank as he saw the Weasleys' faces. __Her father had never told her that they had reached this level on their poverty. __Because of her current life and her father's current job, she would have never guessed that he came from a situation like this. __She wanted to burst out and tell them it's going to be all right. The gloomy atmosphere killed her slowly. She had never seen her Uncles and Ginny look so down, and they were children too, not much older than she was, Ginny looking only five. _

_Scorpius looked at Rose sideways. He felt sorry for the Weasleys. "I never knew Ron had to go though so much," he whispered. Rose felt a lump on her throat and just nodded. Scorpius looked at Ron who was only about six at the time. "I don't think your dad really understands the situation yet. Look at him." Ron looked at Bill who tried to smile at him. "Why can't that Crouch lend them the money? Isn't he that man from the Ministry in the past?" he asked. _

_"I believe so," replied Rose. "There is no other Crouch that we know of."_

Bill turned to Charlie. "I don't have a clue," he answered lamely. Charlie pouted, but he wasn't about to argue. Bill looked at Percy who was looking upset since it would be his turn to go to Hogwarts soon. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be able to go to Hogwarts," said Bill encouragingly, but his voice sounded very unconvincing since it didn't seem that he believed it himself.

"What if we can't go?" Ron suddenly asked. "You heard Dad. He needs to get that money, right?"

Charlie nodded. "Yes he does and it's no-go for us if he doesn't," he explained. "I don't know what Dad's going to do next. We've always been borrowing the money every year." He looked at Bill uncertainly. "What will happen if Dad never gets the money we ought to have? What if we really don't go to Hogwarts this year?" His eyes filled with anxiety as he waited for Bill to answer. "Come on, Bill, answer me," Charlie insisted.

Bill sighed. "Then we don't go, it's as simple as that." Percy looked as if he was about to cry. "Suck it up, Perce. No Weasley boy cries just for this," he said. Percy did as he was told, though it was still evident that he felt like crying. Bill looked at Fred and George. They were unusually quiet. "I know Dad's going to find out something. He always does." Bill tried to convince himself as well as he said it.

"What if he doesn't?" asked George. "That means we'll never get into Hogwarts!"

Percy shook his head unbelievingly. "No, we will go to Hogwarts."

_Rose clasped her hands to her mouth. Tears started to roll down her eyes as she looked at the Weasley boys. She hadn't realized that they were wearing tattered clothes until now. She looked at her father who had a puzzled look on his face. She studied him closely. She looked like his other brothers (and sister), red hair and freckles, and dressed like them too. __They all her shirts and jeans, although faded, especially Ron's. __The patches on their shirts were neatly knitted. Rose could only guess Molly had knitted them. They were only barefooted whilst in the house. They looked extremely poor, though she had never heard any of them complaining so far. _

_Scorpius placed his arm around Rose. "At least we have the peace to know how it ended," he murmured. Rose nodded, not replying. She couldn't take her eyes off of the boys and Ginny. Scorpius rubbed her arm. "It's all right." Although Scorpius said this, he also felt sad that the Weasleys had to go through so much, even to go so far as fearing that they might not even enter Hogwarts._

"Percy is right," said Bill. "We will be going to Hogwarts no matter what. Mum and Dad believe it's the best place to be to learn magic and I'm sure they will find a way to send us there." Just then, he heard whispers coming from the door again. "They're talking again. Quiet, all of you," he said. All the boys and Ginny turned their attention back to the door.

"That's it? A know? Many times I filed for an appeal about it!" protested Arthur. "Lucius, you know I need this money. You have got to talk to Crouch about this. Don't smirk at me like that. I know you're enjoying this. Lucius, I need the money." There was rumbling from inside of the room before Arthur's voice spoke up again. "Please, Lucius, I'm begging you. What do you want from me?"

"I'm sure you're too poor to give me the things I want," Malfoy replied coldly. "I want nothing to do with you, that is what I want. So if you'll excuse me, I'll be going to the Ministry now. There are some things I want to discuss with the Prime Minister." The Weasley siblings were about to scatter when they heard a yell. "How dare you touch my robes with such manner, Weasley?"

"You have to give me that loan," Arthur said. "You have to ask Crouch to give me that loan. All I want is my boys to be sent to Hogwarts. Bill will graduate in two years. After graduation, I believe he can help me with earning the money and everything will be all right. I won't have to ask for any more money. Please Lucius, just two more years. Tell that to Crouch. He'll understand my situation."

"It's your fault for working in that part of the Ministry, Weasley," sneered Malfoy. "Your interest in Muggle things has led you and your family here and I don't care where else you lead them. I suggest that you led go of my robes because I have to be on my way now. If you need the money so badly, why don't you go ask Crouch yourself? Oh that's right, he doesn't even want to see you lately since he knows you're to ask for money."

"Just until Bill graduates. Please Lucius," begged Arthur. The footsteps grew nearer to the door. "If my two boys graduate, I know I can pay back all the debts. They'll all be out from Hogwarts before you know it. All of them are really hardworking and knowledgeable. They deserve a chance of finishing Hogwarts," he said. "All of them do."

"Don't live on your fantasy world forever, Weasley." The doorknob turned. All the Weasley boys jumped. Percy made a run for it. Charlie scooped up Ginny quickly and ran the opposite direction as Percy had. Bill took Ron's hand as the twins jogged behind them. All the Weasley children disappeared as Rose and Scorpius followed behind them.

_"They do run fast," said Scorpius. __He turned back and could not see anything but black. __He looked forward and kept his eyes on __Rose's father. "Where do you think they're heading?" he asked as he raced down the stairs so that the black scene wouldn't catch up to him. __Rose was a bit slower than him so he had to practically drag her along with him. _

_Rose looks at Bill, Ron, and the twins. "They're headed for the living room, I'm sure of it," she said. "This is the fastest way to the living room." Scorpius nodded and pulled her to the living room. Sure enough, Bill, Ron and the twins stopped their. Bill let go of Ron's hand. __Rose looked at Scorpius. "Why didn't your grandfather want to help mine?" she asked, sounding a little bitter. "He knows perfectly well that Grandpa wouldn'__t use it for himself."_

_Scorpius shook his head. "I have no idea, Rose. Let's not start a fight here." Rose nodded understandingly. "__Now I know how Ron could be so angry towards me. __I never knew tat my grandfather did this to his family…" his voice faded as he cast his eyes on the tired boys.__ He thought of some justifications for his grandfather not to be helpful, but he knew it was worthless. He didn't want to speak his mind to Rose knowing that it could lead into an argument, but he thought his grandfather still had a reason for being like this. There must be something behind it. Who wouldn't try to help the Weasleys? Scorpius thought they were the nicest family there is__. But for some reason, Scorpius felt that the world had been so unfair to the family. There was no way he would complain about his family situations from __now on.__ Charlie and Ginny soon showed up, so did Percy who came out from the other room. "All of them look so…" _

_"Tired," finished Rose. "Not only from the run. They're tired of this. Look at them, especially Uncle Bill." __Scorpius nodded sympathetically. __"I __wish I could felt them somehow," said Rose sadly as he tried to reach out to her family, which she never could._

_Scorpius looked at Rose. "At least," he started, "we know what became of all of them. __They're very successful, aren't they? He was about to mention Fred, but decided against it. It might upset Rose more than she already is. "Maybe this is why all the people in your family worked hard in Hogwarts. None of them had a mediocre achievement, is there? __You said that all of the Weasleys are known for something." Rose nodded, slowly smiling. "Maybe this is why this had to happen to them, so that it will bring out the best of them," he suggested. _

_"I'm just glad they all turned out all right," said Rose. _

"What are you all doing in the living room?" Molly had just come out of the kitchen to see her children sitting around the couch. She looked at them suspiciously. "You haven't gone up to the room where your father is, have you?" she asked. All of them shook their heads. Molly sighed. "Okay then. Charlie, I want you to take Ron and Ginny to their rooms and give them their naps. Bill, you and the twins clean the garden. Yes, de-gnome it. Percy, you come with me and help me clean the house. Now that is something to preoccupy all of you," she said.

Without a word complaint, all of the Weasley children did as they were told.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Let me tell you 'bout hard work  
Minimum wage with a baby on the way  
Let me tell you 'bout hard work  
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away  
Let me tell you 'bout hard work  
Building a bed out of a cardboard box  
Let me tell you 'bout hard work  
Hard work  
Hard work  
You don't know nothing 'bout hard work  
_**-Pink-**_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_"We're going to another memory again, aren't we?" said Rose as she looked around and the dark scene came down on them. __Scorpius nodded to her. Rose looked calmer now. "I hope we get to see something happy next," she said hopefully as everything fully disappeared. _

**A/N:**

**NEXT CHAPTER: ****Part of the Family **


	9. Part of the Family

**A/N: Thanks so much to the reviewers! Hope you review this one too.**

_CLUNK!_

_"Ouch!" said Scorpius. He looked up and saw Rose already peering at something. He walked over to her. "Your Dad sure did put a lot into this pensive," he muttered as he came to her side. "What is this?" he asked as he looked at the direction where Rose eyes fell. __He saw Ron and Ginny out in the rain, dancing happily. "They're going to get sick doing that," he pointed out. _

_Rose didn't reply. She watched as Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George danced around the rain as if there were no problems in the world. __She __looked on __as each of the twins __took Ginny's hands and danced around happily. Ron did just the same.__ Their red hair was drenched with rain and the freckles in their faces were very much evident as they smiled. _

"Make a wish, Ron!" exclaimed Fred. Ron stopped dancing and looked at his older brother. Fred smiled at him. "The rain, it sometimes gives us a chance to wish and it'll come true. You don't know when it will be. Just make a wish and dance." He let go of Ginny and took Ron's hand. "Don't stop dancing," he urged and pulled Ron to a dance along with him.

Ron beamed and danced along again. "What wish should I make?" he asked.

Fred snorted. "It won't be your wish if you ask me. Go on and make a wish of your own. I've done mine." His eyes sparkled as he looked at his younger brother who seemed to be thinking about his wish. "That's it, Ron. You make the best wish there is." The back door suddenly swung open. Fred looked aside and saw Percy. "Come on, Perce, join us!" he invited.

"You're going to catch a cold," said Percy. "You better get back to the house now. Look, you've wet your clothes. Now Mum will have to do more laundry." He shook his head. "You're always selfish, thinking about yourselves," he said disapprovingly.

"Don't be a spoil sport, Perce!" cried Ron. "Make a wish too!"

"What wish?" Percy asked, raising his eyebrows.

Fred smiled and pulled his arm. "Any! Come with us, Perce." Percy stumbled forward into the rain. "Make a wish and dance with us. Don't worry. We won't get sick. Mother Nature won't have it. She never wants us to get sick. She created rain for us to enjoy. Make a wish, Perce, and it will come true. I can feel it," he said, still dancing.

Percy looked at him, frowning. "I don't wish to join you at this state," he said and turned about.

Fred grabbed his robes. "Come on, Perce, join us. It's not everyday that you're with us. You always lock yourself in your room and keep us out of it. We're part of our world whether you like it or not, you know. We're your family." Fred gave Percy a wide childish grin. "We won't have each other like this when we grow up."

George nodded. "Yeah, Perce. You won't know what will happen then. Dance with us!" he said as he helped Ginny twirl. "Don't worry about what will happen to our clothes. Mum's really good at casting that drying charm. You rarely get into trouble with Mum and Dad anyway, so why not be at it from time to time?" he asked with an impish grin.

Ron agreed. "Yeah, Perce! You're wet now anyway. Make a wish with us. Mum wouldn't be coming home until this afternoon and I doubt she'll catch us dancing out here." He cocked his head as he stopped dancing. "You can't possibly always this serious. Loosen up a bit. You wouldn't be with us starting this September. You're going off to Hogwarts too." He grinned. "I just know you'll miss us," he said laughing.

"Miss you, probably, but I still don't want to get wet in the rain," said Percy and turned back to head into the house. "Mum would be really upset to find you out here when she comes back. It's hard when one of you catches a cold. She'll have to take care of you all day and that will surely tire Mum out," he said as he walked back into the house.

Fred watched. "Why can't he be less serious?" he asked, looking disconcerted. He turned to George and Ginny who had stopped dancing. "He's always off in his little world." He looked to the direction of Percy's window. "I just wanted him to join us. He's our brother," he said sadly.

George placed a hand on Fred's shoulder. "I know," he whispered. "Come on, fun's drained anyway. Let's go inside the house to dry up." He pulled Ginny behind him as the four of them entered the house. "I just hope that our wishes come true. I can't wait to see my wish happen," he said, trying to lighten the mood since it was darkened by the walking away of Percy.

"Me too," Ron chimed in.

Ginny looked at him. "What did you wish for?" she asked.

"He can't tell," interrupted Fred before Ron could reply. "It won't come true if he tells. What's the point of making the wish if you'll just ruin it by telling?" They reached the living room. Fred grabbed a towel that was lying on the floor. "We better dry up before Mum finds out we've been out in the rain though," he said as he tossed the towel to his twin brother.

"Too late for that, I believe," said Molly as she walked into the living room and stared furiously at the four with her hands on her waist. "I expected better from you lot. You could've caught a cold." She looked at Ginny and Ron. "And you boys have brought along these two with you? You should know better!" Fred and George hung their heads. "Ginny, Ron, you two follow me. Fred and George, go up and dry yourselves. I'll speak to you in a while."

_"Your grandmother sure does know how to catch them in their mischief," said Scorpius amusedly. His eyes followed as the twins disappeared upstairs. "What do you think your dad wished for, Rosie?" he asked when he saw Rose looking as her father as Molly dried him up with a towel. _

_Rose shrugged. "I have no idea. I've never been into his memories until today," she reminded __Scorpius__"I don't understand how Percy could be so unkind to them. All Dad and Ginny and Fred and George wanted was to have him join them. Little rain wouldn't hurt and everyone knows that," she said thoughtfully. Molly had dried the two youngest by now and helped them wear dry shirts._

_"Your dad was just as disobedient as you are now," said Scorpius suddenly, making Rose give him a playful slap on the arm. __"But I feel sorry for Percy right now. I mean, he didn't want to hang out with Fred before and then…" Rose looked upset. She was beginning to like the uncle she had never come to know. Scorpius looked away. He felt sad as well too. He couldn't find any comforting words to her._

_Rose suddenly spoke up, breaking the moment of silence that had come between them. "I bet Uncle Percy thinks about the times when he lost the chances to be with Uncle Fred. He was a nice brother, wanting Uncle Percy to be with them." She felt sad at that moment. She looked at her father who was now sitting on the couch. _

"Mum," Ron started. "Why doesn't Percy want to join on our games?" he asked.

Molly looked at him. "Of course. Your brother has enough sense to stay out of trouble. He knows perfectly well like you do that rain would let you catch a cold. Don't take it against your brother because he is in the right," she said and went back to helping Ginny to get dressed.

Ron shook his head. "Sometimes I think he doesn't like us," he murmured. Molly stopped dressing Ginny and looked at him. Ron looked back at his mother, looking very more matured than he looked as he danced in the rain a while back. "He doesn't join in on any of our games, not even Bill and Charlie come back from school. He always locks himself up in his room and sometimes I think he doesn't exist anymore because of it. Sometimes I feel like he doesn't want to be a part of us," he said sadly.

"Yeah," Ginny piped up as she wiggled into her shirt.

Molly looked at Ron for a moment. She didn't know what exactly to say to him. "Percy is just…" her voice faded. Ron just looked at her and waited for her to explain. "He's just misunderstood by the rest of you. Some people prefer not to be bothered. He is part of this family and he knows it well," said Molly firmly. "Now you two go upstairs. I'm going to talk to the four of you. Go on. I'll be right up," she said and walked into the kitchen.

Ron and Ginny looked at each other before heading up the stairs. "Mum's really upset," muttered Ginny. Ron nodded. He felt guilty. They reached the twins' room. Both of them were sitting on their bed. "Mum's coming up soon," Ginny told them.

"Don't worry," said Fred. "You both didn't do anything. We got you into it. We'd tell her," he assured his two younger siblings. Ron could see that there was something other than that on his brother's mind. He stared at Fred. Fred looked back at him. "What are you staring at me for, Ron? I already told you we'd get the blame for you," he said lamely.

Ron shook his head. "I don't mind about that," he replied. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Nothing," Fred quickly muttered.

George frowned and looked at Ron. "I've been asking him the same thing."

Suddenly, Molly came in. "Now what were the four of you thinking? You could have caught a cold and do you know how much that would cost us if you did?" She studied the four children's faces. They looked sorry enough to her. She could tell though, that they had something other than the incident on their minds. "What is it?" she asked.

"What is what?" said Fred.

Molly looked at him. "There's something that's bothering you," she replied. Her eyes shifted to the other three. "What is going on? Is there anything else I ought to know?" she asked, her suspicion rising even more as she looked at them.

"It's Percy," Fred finally said. "I don't get him. I was just having some fun and he's always so uptight. He never comes out from his room and since the start of this year he's always very bitter and angry when we play some jokes on him. Charlie and Bill don't mind. They laugh at our jokes. It's like…" Fred's voice faded a while, then he said, "…he doesn't want to be with us."

_"I can't blame him for saying that," said Scorpius as he looked at Fred looking gloomy. __It was his first time to see him like it. __The other memories he'd seen, Fred hadn't look so down. He looked at Rose who seemed to be listening very closely to what Fred was saying. __Scorpius felt sorry for Rose too for she will never get to know Fred any longer, only though these memories. "Rose…" whispered Scorpius. _

_Rose looked up. "Yes?"_

_"Are you all right?" asked Scorpius. Rose nodded and turned back to Fred. __Scorpius sighed. __He knew exactly what Fred was feeling since his father treated him the same way. He looked at Fred's eyes. They had the same look on their face every time they thought about their family member who seemed to be drifting away from them. __"My Dad's the same sometimes," admitted Scorpius. _

_Rose spun and looked at him. "What do you mean?" she asked. _

_"He locks himself up in his room. __Every time I ask for a family day from him, he'd tell me tomorrow, but tomorrow never comes," explained Scorpius. His voice was full of sadness as he said it. __He could picture it in his mind perfectly at the moment. "He's always serious about every matter and never comes out to play with me, unlike your father."_

_Rose blinked. "I didn't know that…"_

_"Now you do," whispered Scorpius. _

Before Molly could answer, someone came to the door, sniffing. "Mum, I don't feel well." With a red nose and watery eyes, Percy stood by the doorway. His mother went to him and felt his forehead. "I'm okay, but I just don't feel well," said Percy ironically, making George roll his eyes.

Molly shook her head and ushered him to his room. "You have a fever, Percy," she said. Molly and Percy went to Percy's room, followed by the other four. Molly helped him back into bed. "You stay there. I don't want you getting out of bed. I'll be right up with a tonic and some warm milk. You stay put." Molly spun and looked at the twins, Ron, and Ginny. "You four stay clear of this room if you don't want to taste the tonic," she said and went out of the room.

"Mum said to stay clear of the room," sniffed Percy. He looked pretty weak.

Fred smirked. "And you think we're going to listen to her and leave you here to die of boredom?" he asked. He nudged George who shook his head. "You're always listening to what Mum says, don't you know any better." He sat on Percy's bed. "What are we here for? Besides, you can't lock us out this time," he said smirking.

Ron nodded in agreement. "Wizard's Chess is the best cure for fever!" He took the chess board from Percy's shelf. He set the board in front of Percy. "Besides, I doubt you'll sleep all day, knowing you." He looked cheerfully at Percy. "You start, Perce," he offered.

George walked around the room. "You'll be off to Hogwarts in a few months from now with Bill and Charlie. You won't get to hang out with us much anymore if you do. I don't think it'll hurt to spend a little more time with us, right?" he said.

"No," Percy admitted.

Ginny laughed. "Finally, you say it!" she exclaimed happily.

Ron moved his piece on the chess board. "Your turn," he murmured.

Fred looked at Percy. "I thought we were the ones who were supposed to get sick?" he joked. Percy gave him a look. Fred threw his head back. His freckles were very evident now that he had cleaned his face. "Don't give me that look. I told you Mother Nature won't want to make us sick and I told you that wishes do come true in the rain. Didn't I?" he said proudly, beaming now.

Ginny sat on the edge of the bed. "What did you wish for? Now that it had come true, you can tell us about it right?" she said hopefully.

Fred winked. "I wished for a time that Percy could stay put and we'd be in one room breathing the same air," he said sweetly. "Like George said, you'll be off to Hogwarts soon, Perce. We won't be together us much except for the holidays and we won't stay kids like are now forever. Just have some fun with us, before you go," he insisted.

Percy finally smiled. "I promise to play with you guys when I get well," he said.

Just then, Molly Weasley came into the room. "I told you four to stay out," she barked. "Now go before you catch Percy's cold." She looked at the twins. "No coming in for no matter what reason," she warned them as she placed the warm milk on Percy's bedside table. "You too Ronald and Ginerva," she said to Ron and Ginny warningly. Having their mother call them by their full names meant that she means what she say.

Ron looked at Percy. Percy smiled at him and winked. Ron smiled back before he headed for the door.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

I'll never let you down  
Even if I could  
I'd give up everything  
If only for your good  
So hold me when I'm here  
Love me when I'm wrong  
You can hold me when I'm scared  
You won't always be there  
So love me when I'm gone  
_**-3 Doors Down-**_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_"It's spinning again!" exclaimed Rose. Scorpius took hold of her hand. __Rose looked at him and smiled. "I'm glad you're here with me, __Scorpius. I don't know what adventure this would turn out to be without you. I'm glad you're my best friend.__ Don't worry about your dad. Everything will turn out fine like it did back there," she assured him as Ron left Percy's room and the scene changed. _

**A/N:**** Please review!**

**NEXT CHAPTER: ****These Kids**


	10. These Kids

**A/N: Thank you to the reviewers. I'm sorry I won't be able to reply because it's been kind of busy here. But anyway, I hope you enjoy!**_  
_

_Scorpius looked at Rose uncertainly. "Don't you think we should stop now?" he asked. Rose cocked her head. It wasn't that Scorpius was no longer interested in the __family;__ he was more interested than ever. It was only because he couldn't help but feel envious of them. __He didn't understand why. __He had more than the Weasleys could offer. __He had better clothes and things for one, but somewhere in his heart was bitterness eh couldn't understand. _

_"Just a little more?" Rose pleaded. __Scorpius hesitated for a moment, then nodded. __He could never refuse Rose. Rose turned and looked at her father. He was now grown up, maybe seven. __He stood tall under the sun with a smiling face. __Beside him was his little sister. __Both of their hair shone under the sun as if it was on fire. It looked wonderful to Rose, very wonderful_

"What are you two doing out there?" Charlie stepped out into the backyard. He looked at his two youngest siblings and smiled. "It's a bright day, isn't it? I was thinking of going outside and have a walk around," he said with a wide grin on his face.

Ginny's eyes dazzled. "And you're taking us?" she asked. Charlie nodded. Ginny threw her arms around her older brother. "You're the best, Charlie!" she exclaimed. Charlie laughed as Ginny slowly let go. Ginny turned to Ron and grabbed his hand. "Come on, we have to change our clothes now before Charlie changes his mind," she said, practically dragging her brother behind her.

"You look desperate to get out of the house," Ron said smiling. Ginny nodded as they reached the staircase. "You go on up ahead and change. I'll get myself a glass of water before I do." Ginny let go of Ron and ran up the stairs slamming her door behind her. Ron turned and saw Charlie standing behind him. "There's a catch, isn't there?" he said suspiciously.

Charlie muttered, "I don't know myself. This was Bill's idea and I feel there is too." Ron looked helpless for a moment. "I know what you're thinking. I don't know if it's about money again. I hope not. Bill's only in for a year then he can graduate and help Dad now. I really don't know if it's about this again," he assured Ron.

"What did Bill say?" Ron asked.

"Nothing," Charlie replied. "He just asked me if I fancied going outside with him and I say yes. He told me to tell the rest of you. The twins agreed, and as usual, Percy didn't want to come. Fred's trying to persuade him though." Ron didn't move. Charlie sighed. "Go get dressed. We'll know sooner or later once we are out of the house anyway."

_Ron nodded and went up the stairs. He walked to his closet and opened it. __Scorpius could only spot __three pairs of jeans and three shirts in it. __Ron pulled out the top most of each and changed his clothes. He quickly went to the mirror to fix his hair. __Ron's mirror wasn't big, just enough to see his head. __Scorpius watched as Ron combed his hair and study himself in front of the mirror before __pulling up his pants_

_"How can anyone live with that few clothes?" asked Rose, dumbfounded. Scorpius smirked. Knowing Rose, she had more than two dozen pairs of clothing. She loved fashion more than anyone else in their __year. Having a Muggle for a mother, she could shop in both Wizarding malls and Muggle malls without a problem about it. _

_Scorpius waved his hand. "That's not the point though," he said. "All of his clothes seem to be getting to small for him too. __Look at his pants. It's two inches short." __Rose cast his eyes on Ron's past which did hang two inches short. She suppressed a snicker, but Scorpius caught her. "Laughing at your own father now?" he asked. _

_"You're mean," said Rose, smiling. _

Ginny came into the room. "What's taking you so long?" she asked. She looked at Ron as he fixed his hair. "Come on, Ron, hurry up. Fred's finally convinced Percy to come. Everyone's already downstairs. Bill has already gotten permission from Mum to take us all out. We're going to a Muggle mall. Bill said it would be interesting," she said.

Ron's face lit up. "Really? A Muggle mall?" Ginny nodded. Ron turned around and went with Ginny downstairs. They both of them met the rest of their siblings in the kitchen. "I'm ready," he announced as Charlie looked up from drinking his glass of water.

"You take too long," muttered George. Ron shrugged. George looked at Bill. "Aren't we going yet? Ronnie is here." Ron scowled. He didn't want to be called Ronnie. "Sorry _Ronnie_, I forgot about calling you that," he said, smirking. Ron tried not to mind him. George laughed and stood up. "Come on. I'm tired of hanging around the house all summer," he muttered.

Molly came into the kitchen. "Are all of you going?" Every one of her children nodded. She smiled softly. "Oh that's very nice. It's been a long time since all of you went out together. You take care of each other all right," she said. She looked at Bill. "Look after the twins. I don't want them causing any trouble at the mall like the last time we went." She looked at the twins. "No funny business or it's straight back home for you," she warned.

"Yes, Mum," the twins chorused.

Charlie stretched his arms. "Don't worry about Ron and Ginny, I'll look after them," he said. Molly nodded. Charlie glanced at Bill. "Let's get going. I don't want to miss dinner tonight," he said and headed out of the kitchen. The rest followed right behind him.

"Why do I have to come with you?" mumbled Percy as they walked down away from the Burrow.

Ron licked his upper lip. "Because you're our brother and apparently every one of us is going," he replied. Percy didn't have to answer that. Ron looked at Bill. "Why are we going to the mall today anyway? What's so special about today?" he asked as he walked beside his eldest brother and grabbed his hand.

Bill looked at him. "It's a nice day," he simply answered. "Besides, I heard from one of my Muggle-born friends that there's a new thing going on inside the mall we're going to. He told me to bring you lot because he reckons you'll enjoy it." He looked into Ron's blue eyes. "It's nothing particular, Ron, I promise," he said when he felt that Ron was getting into some suspicions.

Percy looked at Bill. "Do you mean it?" he said innocently.

Bill laughed. "I promise I do."

"How come we're walking?" asked George.

Bill looked at him. "It's not too far. Don't get your hopes up in flying over there too. We're going to a Muggle place and we don't want Dad to get in more trouble in the Ministry that he already is, do we?" he said, which made none of the other children complain anymore. They knew that their father was already disliked because of his love for Muggle devices.

"How far is it?" Ginny suddenly asked. "My legs are starting to hurt from walking, you know."

"Not far anymore," Bill assured her.

It was half past ten when they arrived at the mall. It was packed with Muggles. Bill let go of Ron's hand and grabbed the twins' who restrained at first but the yielded when Bill gave them a threatening look. He couldn't afford to let the twins go lose on a very crowded place. Bill knew their mother would kill him if he did knowing that it was him who their mother put the in charge over the twins.

_"The mall!" squealed Rose. __She looked excitedly at Scorpius. "Your dad doesn't like you to go to Muggle malls, right?" Scorpius nodded. "Well, here's one. It's one of the oldest malls there is around, Dad said. I never knew he came here to shop too when he was little." She looked at the crowd. "There aren't many people that go there now. Not as much as this lot anyway," she said. _

_Scorpius looked around. "Odd things," he muttered. He found a poster and stared at the motionless picture. "Hey look, Rosie. The picture's stuck. It isn't moving," he said interestedly. Rose laughed. Scorpius lifted his head and looked at her. "Sorry for being ignorant," he said, frowning. Rose just stuck his tongue out. "Though it's still interesting to see," Scorpius added. _

_"Why do you think Dad and the rest are worried about money again?" asked Rose, suddenly remembering the conversation that the Weasleys had. "Uncle Bill did go on to Hogwarts, remember? The last memory, they weren't at their __house any longer which means__ that they had gone onto Hogwarts, right?" she said hopefully. _

_Scorpius nodded. "I believe so," he replied. "I think they're worried again since it is summer and it's start for another year. Apparently it's not the issue why Bill brought them here. __They ought to enjoy this trip," he said, smiling. He felt happy that the Weasleys also had their delightful times even though they couldn't really afford everything he could. _

"Look at that!" said Ron as he pointed to one of the stalls. "Cotton Candy," he said as he squinted to read the sign. "He turned to Bill. "What's that, Bill, what's that?" he asked jovially. Bill looked at him then at the stall. "Can we have that, Bill? Please? Just one try!"

Bill shook his head. "I'm afraid we don't have the money. We're just here to walk around." Ron didn't bother Bill to ask for more. The seven Weasleys walked around the ground floor admiring the shops. Fred and Ron both kept peering at toy shops if they could, watching the Muggle things work amazingly. Bill couldn't help but smile when he watched them. "You'll be able to afford them one day," he assured the two.

Fred spun. "Really?" he said.

Bill nodded. "As long as you work hard, that's what Dad always told me. If we worked hard enough, we would be able to." He looked at Ron who was watching the toy train move around its railroad. "You'll be riding a train like that when you turn eleven, Ron. Remember seeing the Hogwarts Express?" he asked. Ron nodded. "It's the same as that, running on the tracks," he explained.

Percy squirmed. "I can't wait to get back to the train again."

"I doubt." The Weasleys turned and saw a boy about Bill's age. He gave the seven a sneer. "Don't count on going back this year, I tell you. My father said that the Weasleys will never afford to send their children back to school." He glanced at Bill who wasn't looking too relaxed anymore. "Poor William Weasley, you were hoping that you'd become Head Boy this year, weren't you? I guess you'll never know. Your father is too poor, you know, to send you to school."

Charlie grabbed Bill's shoulder. "Let's just go, Bill," he hissed.

Bill pulled away from Charlie and clenched his fist. "How dare you talk about my father?" he gritted through his teeth. "You have no right to talk about him. All of us will be able to go through Hogwarts and we'll all be better than you. You're just pissed off because Charlie's team won last year and he's ten times better as a Quidditch Captain than you are."

The boy jeered. "Funny you should say that. McGonagall knows about the Weasleys' condition. As a matter of fact, everyone knows about you lot. Who could miss a pack of people with patched clothes?" Bill took a step forward, but Charlie held him tighter by the shoulder. "I see you've become animals too. Don't worry, the wild will find a place for you, Weasley," he said. He looked at the lot with a smug on his face, causing Ron to lose his temper.

"My brother's not fit for the wild, you are!" he yelled.

The boy turned to Ron. "And you must be the runt of this lot." George grabbed Ron's arm. He knew his little brother's temper and this wasn't doing any good. "We'll see about that. If I get thrown into the wild, I bet it will all obey my every command. I'm rather good a curses, you see, though I don't you know any yet, being the runt you are. If Bill gets thrown into the wild, he will become one of them."

"No he won't!" Percy bravely countered. Fred looked at him. Percy rarely stood up for anything or anyone and this was a very rare moment. Even with the situation, Fred couldn't help but smile. "You're wrong. You're just scared because my brother is going to be Head Boy and you aren't!" he exclaimed as he looked at the boy straight in the eye, something unusually done by Percy.

The boy snorted. "I didn't know that the Weasleys actually had nerd in the family."

Without warning, Fred lunged for the boy. He had enough of the boy's taunting. Ginny screamed. It all happened very fast. Fred punched the boy's nose causing it to bleed because he gave his all at that punch. Fred had always been protective of the family though he never showed it. He never wanted to hear anyone badmouth a person of the family, even if it was Percy. He pulled the boy's hair. With full force, the boy pushed Fred off of him. Being bigger and stronger, Fred fell backwards hitting his head on the floor, leaving him unconscious.

Bill whipped out his wand and pointed it at the boy; the boy did the same thing.

"Bill, no!" cried Percy.

Ron broke away from George's hold and pulled Bill back before he could mutter a curse and get them all into trouble. Bill staggered backward, falling on Ron whose arm seemed to have twisted. Ron yelped and was in tears when pain shot up his arm. Bill quickly stood up. His eyes widened when he saw what he had done to his youngest brother.

_Rose turned pale. "What's happening?" she asked frantically. She looked at Scorpius and closed her eyes. "Tell me when it's over." She buried her face on Scorpius's shoulder. __Scorpius hesitated, but slowly wrapped his arms around her. __"Tell me Uncle Fred's okay. Tell me they didn't do any magic," she said. Scorpius could feel Rose's heart pounding fast inside her chest. _

_"Calm down," he whispered._

"What's going on here?" a security guard asked as he made his way through the crowd. He stared at the children. He saw one with a bloody nose any another one unconscious. He looked sideward at yelping Ron. The guard grabbed his walky-talky. "We need medic up here, section twenty-four, over," he said to the walky-talky and walked over to the unconscious Fred lying on the ground.

"Medic coming, over."

The security guard looked at them all. "What's been happening over here? How come this one's unconscious? Where are your parents?" he asked the stunned Weasley boy. The other one stood up and was about to walk away when the security guard firmly said, "No, you stay here as well. I wan an explanation from all of you."

It wasn't long before there was a flash of red light about them. Charlie looked up. The Muggles dispersed. To all the children's horror, their stood their fathers in front of them; looking very stern and disappointed at them all.

"They've been cast a charm to forget what just happened," Arthur said through his teeth. "It was a good thing that I wasn't too far from here and I decided to drop by." He looked at his two injured sons. "I can't believe this would happen to you." He shot a very stern look at Bill. "I saw you to be the first to draw out your wand, William."

The other boy's father pulled his son by the ear. "Come on now, Laurence. We are going to have a very long talk when we reach home," he said stiffly as he dragged his son away from the scene. The Weasleys heard the boy's protest, but it was to no avail, so it seemed.

"It was his fault, Dad, he started it," said Percy.

Arthur crouched down and carried Fred onto his arms. "I don't care who started it. It's the one who ended it that matters and I doubt the way you boys ended it wasn't right." He shook his head disappointedly. "You all be ready for a very long lecture from your mother when we get home. I doubt any of you would get off the hook this time." He looked at Ron. "You all right, son?" he asked.

Tearfully, Ron nodded. "Yes," he answered in a small voice.

"Your mother will mend that, don't worry," said Arthur. "Now all you boys have to do is explain to your mother and me what happened when we get home. I doubt tonight will be a joyous evening for all of us." He looked pretty grim as if he was hoping for a better day all along.

"You don't understand, Dad! That boy he-"

Arthur interrupted. "Save it for tonight, George," he said firmly. George sighed in frustration.

Every one of the Weasley children looked sorry about what had happened. They knew that their parents were hoping that for once they would have a normal outing with just the seven of them and without parental supervision. They had let their parents down once more. All the boys and Ginny followed their father down the escalator and towards the front doors of the mall. Arthur still looked very stern and upset with his children as they did.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

These kids trapped in a struggle and  
Don't know where they're heading, no  
A head full of trouble is all that they're getting  
And nobody knows the suffering they go through  
And you wouldn't believe 'em if they told you  
_**-Joel Turner-**_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_Rose watched as they left the mall. She was too stunned to speak as the scene closed in on them. She just watched as the surrounding black scene closed in on her and Scorpius. __Scorpius couldn't help but feel upset that their father didn't even try to hear them out. At that moment, he was reminded very much of his own father who almost always acted the same way. _

**A/N:Please Review, guys!  
**

**NEXT CHAPTER: BIG BROTHER**


	11. Big Brother

**A/N: Hope you enjoy!**_  
_

_"Where are we?" Rose asked as she looked around an unfamiliar place. Scorpius looked round too and shrugged. Both of them were clueless of the place. Rose sighed and sat on the rock closest to her, looking tired. "What do you think happened to Dad then? He seems to want most of the bad memories removed," she muttered grudgingly for she never gets to see the whole story of what happens to her father. It's always pieces and parts that she sees. _

_Scorpius nodded. "I've noticed that too, but I can't blame him. __After all, who doesn't want to forget those things?" He looked further and finally saw Ron walked towards them with a pail on his hand and a shovel on the other. "I think we're at the beach," he said. He looked up and saw the hot sun blazing. "There's Ginny too," he said, pointing to the little girl. _

_Rose turned. "I don't recognize this beach though," she said. _

_"It might be the one Dad used to talk about," replied Scorpius. __He said there was some old man-made beach that they turned into an industrialized place. It didn't attract __too__ many people. It's a Muggle beach though, that's why Dad was happy to see it go."_

"Look, Ginny, there are shells here too," said Ron as he clamored up the small cave. "I think the shells are really wicked." He picked up one colorful shell. "Look at this," he said as he held it up to Ginny. Ginny's eyes widened in amazement. "I'm glad Dad thought about this vacation. I don't want to go home just yet. Too bad work is always bothering us from trips like this."

Ginny picked up another shell. "It doesn't matter. We're here already." She threw the shell into Ron's pail. "How many of these do you think Fred and George has gotten by now?" she asked as she searched for more shells that were lying around.

Ron shrugged. "I have no idea, but I think they're way ahead of us. Knowing them, they'd have two pails of shells by now," he replied. He picked up another shell. "But I'm sure we'll win over Percy and Dad. Percy's a nerd when it comes to things like this. Not to insult him, but he comes short in adventures," he said as he found another one lying beside a big rock. "Hey, this one looks nice as well," he said as he threw it into the pail.

"I hate it when sand gets between my toes," said Ginny as she shook her foot. She looked at Ron. "I don't think there are any more shells around here. Want to try back at the seashore?" she asked. Ginny straightened up her body and wiggled the sand out of her hair. "How about Bill and Charlie? How do you think they're doing?" she asked.

Ron tilted his head. "They'll probably be a match for Fred and George," he replied. Bill has a knack for finding things anywhere. Charlie's a Seeker, remember? He can spot the tiniest shell I bet. They're a perfect team," he said. Ginny nodded in agreement. The both of them sighed simultaneously and sat on the rock near them. "Do you think we have enough shells?" Ron asked as he held up his pail. Ginny shook her head. "Figures," muttered Ron.

_"Aren't they cute?" said Rose. Scorpius rolled his eyes. "They look adorable when they'__re together. Up until now, Dad looks out for Auntie__ Ginny. When she and Harry needed__ help, Dad and Mum are there to __help him. __It's fun to see how Dad and Auntie Ginny were when they were younger." Her eyes twinkled at the sight. _

_Scorpius sat beside Rose. "Looks like they're having a contest on who could collect the most shells," he said as he looked at Ron's pail which carried shells half full. __"At this rate, they won't win the contest, not if they're sitting around just like that." __He looked at Ginny and Ron who were giggling about something. Rose giggled too. __Scorpius looked at her. "What did they say?" he asked. _

_"Listen," replied Rose._

"What about the time when you kissed that kid Brad?" asked Ron suspiciously. Ginny turned scarlet all over. Ron smirked at her. "You did it on purpose, didn't you? You like him, don't you?" Ginny turned redder than ever, if that was even possible at the moment. "Ginny likes Bradley! Ginny likes Bradley!" chanted Ron teasingly. "Ginny likes Bradley!"

"I do not!" countered Ginny hotly. "It was Fred. He dared me to."

Ron laughed. "You're turning red, Ginny. Come on, tell your big brother. You like Bradley, don't you?" Ginny crossed her arms across her chest. "You like Bradley if you be so defendant about it. That's why they tell you never to kiss and tell." Ginny threw a dirty look at him. "Well, that's the rule, Ginny. You aren't supposed to kiss and tell. Admit it! You like Brad! See, you're turning even redder now. Oh wait till Fed and George finds out."

"You're so mean!" cried Ginny. Tears sprang to her eyes. Ron suddenly looked guilty. Ginny stood up. She kicked the pail. All the shells that they had collected scattered on the floor. Ginny looked at Ron angrily. "I will never ever team up with you again. I knew I should've said yes to Dad when he asked me to team up with him. I was just worried you wouldn't get along with Percy. I hate you, Ronald!" she exclaimed and stomped out of the cave.

Ron looked at the shells and hesitated for a moment before going after his sister. "Wait up, Ginny." He ran alongside her as she angrily tried to avoid him. "Gin, look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get angry like this. I was only joking. You can't be serious! Don't get angry at me like that! I know you don't mean it. I know it was a dare. Come on, Ginny. Don't be so angry about it, please!" he begged as he tried to keep up with his sister.

_"Touchy isn't she?" said Scorpius, grinning at Rose. He looked back at the two who were headed out to the sea. "I guess sibling rivalry isn't uncommon. __Now I understand why you and Hugo get into a lot of __argument. I can imagine Hugo teasing you about the time you kissed me even though it was only for a dare__," he said, snickering a b__i__t. Rose shot a warning look at him. "Okay, I'm shutting up now," said Scorpius and turned is attention back to the Weasleys. _

_"You better," mumbled Rose. _

Ron grabbed Ginny's arm. "You can't go into the sea. Mum said we ought not to go into that unless she's watching." Ginny tried to wretch free from Ron's hand, but her brother held onto her pretty tightly. "You can be so stubborn at times. You're going to get into trouble when Mum finds out you went for a swim and you aren't with any adult. Stop struggling. We're going to lose the contest at this rate we're going," he reminded her.

Ginny pulled her hand away from Ron with all her might. "I don't care about the contest anymore. I'm quitting it. Let go of me, Ron!" Ron shook his head vigorously. Ginny continued to pull with all she's got. "Let go of me. I want to go for a swim. I won't go into the deep water, let go of me!" she said angrily and pulled again. "Ron, let go!"

"No way am I letting go," said Ron firmly. He sighed and pulled his sister backwards. Ginny stumbled and fell on her bottom. Ron still held onto her. "I already said sorry. I always tease you and you never get angry. You know I don't mean everything I say. You know I know that you don't like Bradley. Why do you have to act so childish?" he asked as he helped his sister up.

Tears ran down Ginny's cheeks. "I am a child," she pointed out. "And I hate you whenever you tease me. You always do. You along with Fred and George. I bet if Percy is as lively as you, he'd be out to tease me too. Just because I'm always the smallest of all of you and I'm the youngest and I'm the girl you always tease me!" Ginny cried. "Just because I'm the youngest and I'm the girl you always pick one me and tease me and never each other."

A smile crept to Ron's face. "Who said they never tease me? Fred and George always do," he replied. He slightly pulled Ginny. "Stop crying now. It's all right. I'm sorry for teasing you. I never knew you weren't finding them funny. You know you can tell me anything." Ginny looked at him. Ron nodded. "You're my little sister. Of course I don't want to see you sad. You always laugh along when we tease you and I thought you never got offended by them." He placed his arm around her. "Now let's go and find some shells. We still might have a chance to win, you know."

Ginny started to wipe away her tears. "Okay," she said in a small voice.

Ron looked at her and stopped walking. "Are you really all right now?" he asked. Ginny slowly nodded. Ron smiled at her. "I promise I won't tease you again if it hurts you that much. We don't tease you because you're the youngest and you're the girl. Fred and George even cuts you some slack because of it. You don't know what they're capable of," he said.

Ginny finally smiled back at him. "I know. I can see how they tease Percy sometimes," she replied.

Ron bent over and picked up a shell. "We have to start all over again, but I bet we still have a chance. Dad said we can look all over the place until the sun sets." He looked at the direction to the west. "I reckon it will take an hour or so." He pulled Ginny's arm. "Let's go back up to the cave and get back the shells we've already collected," he suggested.

As they walked, Ginny looked at her older brother. "Don't you feel upset when Fred and George tease you?" she asked.

Ron nodded. "I do. I'm also the youngest among the boys and you know how it is to be the youngest. They're rough on me a lot of times; making me do things I don't want to do. I remember though that I made a promise to them that I'll never tell on them so I don't. After a while, I got used to their pranks and teasing. They're always at it anyway. Remember the ice on my bed?" Ginny laughed and nodded. "It's all in fun. I reckon Fred and George won't go as far as really hurting me," he said.

Ginny found another seashell and picked it up. "They'd get into trouble if they do," she said.

Ron nodded. "Oh yes they will. I remember the torture Mum gave them. Three months of pure vegetables. I can't blame George for losing so much weight." Ginny picked up another shell on the way. "How come you never told us that you never liked us teasing you?" he asked.

Ginny shrugged. "Maybe because I didn't want you to think I was a kill joy. Fred always says Percy is a kill joy because he never wants to be teased and prank upon. Bill and Charlie don't seem to mind when Fred and George comments about them. I seldom see you blow off your steam when they tease you so I figured that I have to be like all of you. I don't want to be Percy," she admitted, causing Ron to laugh at her last line.

Ron pointed to a smaller cave. "Hey look, Ginny. There's a smaller cave there. Want to check it out? There might be wonderful shells there. If we can't find many, we might as well find something beautiful. Who knows? We might even run to a pot of gold? Merlin knows we need the money," he said. Ginny agreed as they went into the cave. Ron picked up a rather big shell. "Look at this, Ginny. It's big," he said and handed it to his sister.

Ginny smiled. "You can say that again." She looked around. "Look, there's plenty more over there." The both of them went to the corner and started to gather all the big seashells they could find. When they couldn't hold on to any more, they stopped and went out of the cave. Ginny looked at Ron. "Well, that was a great find," she admitted. Ron nodded.

They climbed up back to the cave. "Ron! Ginny!" Molly ran to the two of them and gave them both a tight embrace. She gave them both a kiss on the forehead. "I was so worried about you." Behind her stood Percy and Arthur, Arthur looking as worried as his wife. "Percy and your father found the pail and the scattered shells and couldn't find you. We thought something bad had happened to the two of you. Where have you been?" she asked. She looked at Ginny's wet body. "You haven't been swimming, have you?" she asked.

Ginny shook her head. "No, Ron stopped me," she replied.

Molly smiled proudly at Ron. "Oh how good of you to get some sense into your sister." She kissed him again. Molly turned back to Arthur and Percy. "The sun is setting. Let's go back. I fixed something for all of you and something special for our winners," she said with a wide smile on her face. She placed a hand on each of the two's shoulder. "Come on, now."

_Rose smiled. "Grandma is still Grandma. She worried about losing me and Hugo in the mall once," she explained. Scorpius laughed at the thought. "Dad's really nice to Ginny, isn't he? I'm glad he didn't lose his temper back there. If he did, things would've gotten worse," she said. _

_Scorpius nodded. "You're right about that." They followed the lot down the cave. "Your grandmother su__re fusses a lot about her kids and gives them a lot of hugs and kisses." He recalled the scene and envied it a little. __His father didn't even hug him when he was sent off for his first year at Hogwarts. He looked at Rose. "Did your parents hug you when you went off to Hogwarts?" he asked. _

_"Every time," Rose replied calmly. She pulled Scorpius's hand. "Come on, they're by that ice cream stall. Looks like they're about to announce the winner of their little contest," she said as she practically dragged Scorpius to the place. _

"Look what we've got?" asked Fred as he poured out all the shells they've collected into the sand. "We've counted them. Forty-seven in all," he said proudly as he marveled at the number of shells and his twin brother had found. "We even went to the reef to find some. A good number, this one, if you ask me," he said. He looked at Bill who was grinning impishly. "How many did you get then, if you're so confident," he said.

Charlie poured out the contents of his bucket. "Sixty-seven," he replied for Bill. "I guess you two lose." George pouted at the sigh of the many shells that came out from the bucket. He looked at his mother. "What does the winner get to ear, Mum?" he asked as he smacked his lips. He stared at the picnic basket that his mother had prepared before they came to the beach, but no one had seen its contents when she packed it.

"It's not over yet," said Percy. He smiled and poured out all the shells that he and his farther collected. "Me and Dad, we've got sixty-nine," he said happily. Fred looked at all the shells unbelievingly. "Dad's got a knack for finding shells even without using magic," he said proudly.

Finally all of the attention turned to the youngest two. "How many have you got?" asked Bill. He reached for their bucket and his eyes winded. "Hey, look at what these two have been collecting," he said and turned the pail upside down, emptying its contents. "These are not just shells…these are…"

"…the ones with pearls in it," finished Charlie. He reached out for one big oyster and cracked it open. A shiny pearl sparkled before their eyes. He looked at the two, very much stunned. "How could you have been collecting things like this? Have you two been going out for a swim?" he asked suspiciously. "We had a rule about that, you know," he reminded them.

Arthur studied the oyster. "Even if they did go for a swim, they wouldn't have found anything like this one. These things only go deep under the sea." He smiled and ruffled Ron's hair. "Well done, son. Where have you two been gathering the shells? Do you know how much these beauties cost?" he asked, his eyes dazzling very cheerily. Arthur couldn't take his eyes off of the pearl that was inside the oyster. "Wonderful," he whispered.

"We went someplace before we went into the cave," Ron replied. He turned around. "It was over th-" He stopped. Ginny looked as shock as he did. "I swear there was another cave below it, Dad," he said as he looked at the lower part of the cave where they had gone into. "Dad, I swear there was a little cave under that one," he said, looking at it unbelievingly.

"Ron's making it all up, the pointy nose liar," taunted Fred.

"Stop that!" snapped Ginny, which had Fred taken aback. The whole family laughed when they saw this. Ginny looked at Ron. Their eyes met for a moment. Without a word to be said, they understood each other with one look.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

So if you're mad get mad  
Don't hold it all inside  
Come on and talk to me now  
Hey, what you got to hide  
I get angry too  
Well I'm a lot like you  
_**-Pretenders-**_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_Scorpius looked at Ron. "You did see the cave too right?" he said. Rose nodded undoubtedly. Scorpius looked around. Everything started to darken again. "I guess we're off to another scene," he muttered. He looked at Rose sideways. "You look as if you're thinking too deeply about something. What is it?" he asked her. __She knew Rose was thinking about something by the look on her face. _

_"Don't you remember about the Cave of Wishes?__ The one they told us about in Hogwarts last term?" she asked Scorpius looked at her. "I believe that was it. __Didn't Dad say something about a pot of gold?" She looked at the fading picture with delight. "I'm happy that they found a small source of income at least!" The scene then completely blackened. _

**A/N: I know this part was kinda weird...but I hope you liked it...Please review. A few more chapters to go! D **

**NEXT CHAPTER: Birthday Gift for Mum**


	12. Birthday Girft for Mum

**IN MEMORY OF ANGEL R. SEE**_  
_

_Rose looked sideways at Scorpius. "Dad won't find out. Come on, Scorpius, please," she pleaded, tugging on Scorpius's shirt. "Please stay with me a wee bit longer. I want to see what happens next with Dad and Auntie Ginny and all of them. Please Scorpius! I'd go with you to your Dad's pensive if you asked me to." She looked at him with her infamous battling eyelashes. _

_Rolling his eyes, Scorpius replied, "Fine."_

"Ginny, that's mine," said Ron, grabbing the parchment from Ginny. Ginny frowned at him. Ron stuck his tongue out. "Get your own parchment," he mumbled. He reached for the box of crayons beside him. Ron took out a black crayon from the box. Ginny followed Ron's hands as they drew something on the parchment. Ron looked up at Ginny. "What are you looking at?" he asked rather irritably.

"Your drawing," Ginny simply answered. "What is it?"

Ron continued to draw. "You'll see," he said smiling. His hands swiftly ran through the parchment. "Tomorrow is Mum's birthday and I want to make something really special for her." He scribbled on the parchment. "I want to make Mum look happy this year. She's been looking down lately." He looked at his sister. "What are you going to give her?" he asked

Ginny shrugged and looked at him blankly. "I don't know." She looked at Ron for a moment. "Can I draw the picture with you? We can give it to Mum together and we can put both our names on it," she suggested, hoping her brother would say yes.

"No," said Ron sharply. "You can draw by yourself now. You're not two years old." He took another crayon from the box. "I'm glad Dad keeps these Muggle things within reach. They come in handy all the time." He took a green crayon and scribbled it all over the parchment. "Do you think Dad already knows how to work this?" he asked.

Ginny tilted her head. "No idea," she muttered. "What are you drawing? Is that a house?" she asked as she peered over her brother's shoulders. "Ron, what's that you're drawing?" she asked again when he didn't answer her the first time. When Ron refused to answer, Ginny grabbed him by the shoulders and began shaking him so that he'd stop drawing and look at her.

"Stop shaking me," said Ron. "You'll see once I'm done with it." He shook his sister off of him. "Don't keep on grabbing my hand. It will ruin the picture." He looked at Ginny. "What are you thinking about?" he asked when he saw the look on her sad face. "Did I hurt you?" asked Ron.

Ginny shook her head. "No," she said in a tiny voice. Ron dropped his crayon. "I was just thinking about what Fred and George were talking about. They're going to Hogwarts next year and that's going to leave you and me here. It's going to get very lonely." She looked away from Ron for a moment. "I know you'll be here, but without Fred and George, this house is going to be very quiet."

Ron nodded understandingly. "I know. But we'll be off to Hogwarts soon too, so I guess it won't matter much then."

Ginny nodded and grinned with excitement. "We'd be off to do the same things Bill and the rest does. I can't wait to get my wand and do magic." She stood up. "You'll see me one day being the best witch there is, Ron. I'll be up somewhere and doing magic and nothing in the world can stop me," she said with fantasizing eyes. Ron laughed. Ginny shot a look at him. "A girl can dream, can't she?" she said in a very dreamy tone.

Ron laughed. "Whatever you say, Ginny."

Ginny climbed into the sofa and stood up. She placed her hands on her waist and smiled at Ron. "You'll see ne day that I'm right. You'll see one day that they'll know my name. I won't let Mum and Dad down. I'll be prefect and I'll be Head Girl like Bill. I'll also be Quidditch Captain and Seeker like Charlie. I'll be top of my level like Percy! I'll be all those when I get to Hogwarts, Ron, you'll see." Her smile shone like the sun as she said this.

_Rose looked at Scorpius. "She's got a lot of dreams," she said smiling. "But I can't blame Auntie Ginny. Because of so may brothers who've done great things, no wonder she'll want to outshine them." Scorpius neared her. "I'm just glad that they all got through all right. None of them were held back or expelled. Dad said it's a wonder Uncle Fred and Uncle George weren't, but they were doing well in school maybe. Dad said they were most excellent at Charms."_

_"What does it feel like to have so many brothers older than you?" Scorpius suddenly asked. Rose shrugged. Being the eldest of the family, she __hadn't had the feeling of being overshadowed. "I don't know how they could be so cheerful at this state," Scorpius said in a small voice. _

_Rose kindly smiled at him. "How come?"_

_Scorpius shrugged. "I don't know," he replied. "I mean, it's a simple life, too simple. Then there are always the worries about money. There's the cold at night. There are the too many older brothers to beat down in school. I don't know how Ron made it fine. I guess with Harry Potter when he got to school, but even with him, he is overshadowed, seeing how Harry is very famous."_

_"In any way," said Rose, "life just goes on, doesn't it?"_

"What are you two doing?" asked George as he entered the room. He walked past his brother and sister and to the couch. "Don't tell Percy. Fred's keeping him busy at the moment." He took the cushions of the couch and placed it on the floor. Ron and Ginny watched. George took out some needles from his pocket. "This I'm going to enjoy watching," he whispered, snickering. He placed the needles all over the cushions.

Ron looked at him anxiously. "What if someone else than Percy sits there?" he asked.

George thought for a moment. "Then tough luck for him," he muttered as he placed the cushion back to the couch. "I'll kill you both if Percy finds out what we've planned. You can go act normal if you want to stay though. Don't give it away. Fred found something in Dad's den. We believe it's a Muggle camera. We'd like to have a see how it works and capturing Percy's shining moment wouldn't be too bad at it," he said with an impish grin and left the room.

"You're right, Ginny," said Ron, turning back to his drawing. "The house is going to be quiet without Fred and George."

Sure enough, Percy entered the living room with a book on his hand. "Has George come into this room?" he asked Ron and Ginny. Both shook their heads. Percy stared at them. "Are you sure?" he asked again. Both nodded at the same time. Percy finally headed for the couch. He looked at it closely. "I don't trust Fred," he murmured. When he found nothing, he plopped himself down. Hard. "MERLIN!" Percy yelped, jumping off the couch.

A flash came. Ron and Ginny looked the other direction and saw the twins with the camera. They were both laughing evilly, causing Percy to throw a dirty look at them. The twins laughed even more as they came out from behind the staircase. Ron began laughing too. The Muggle camera had instantly printed the picture. Fred showed it to the youngest two. Ginny laughed as well when she saw it.

_"They're such a nuisance sometimes, aren't they?" said Scorpius, but he was smiling. "I don't know how Percy took these for years, being the prime victim of those twins almost always." He looked at Rose who seemed to have sad eyes as she looked on. "What's wrong, Rose? Did I say something? I'm really sorry if I said something," he said quickly. _

_Rose shook her head. "No, it's not you," she answered. "I remember Dad telling me Percy pulling away from the family. __He worked for the Ministry for a couple of years and never came home. Dad said the whole family was sad, and it seemed to have affected Uncle Fred badly. They made up before Uncle Fred passed away though. __Still, if Uncle Percy remembered these times when they were young and so carefree." Her heart sank._

_"There's nothing we can do now," murmured Scorpius. "I don't know why you always have to stick to the people always. __I don't really blame Percy if it is his career choice.__ Besides, he was so overshadowed by his two older brothers as well. Maybe he needed a break from them. The Ministry pays well too. They do need the money.__"_

_Rose looked at her father. "Dad always told me that all we need are our friends and family. Nothing material can never replace them. He also told me that with a lot of brothers, you'll never get bored. Overshadowed, yes, but you'll never get bored when you have a gathering, especially having Uncle Fred and Uncle George." Rose blinked. "I wish I had the chance to met Uncle Fred though. What gatherings we would've had if…" her voice trailed off._

_"I can't say I really know how you feel," said Scorpius as he put one arm around her, "but in one way or another, I feel the same way as you do."_

Percy glared at Fred. "Dad won't be too happy that you took that," he warned. Fred just smirked at him. Percy held his head up high as he went upstairs. The door to his room slammed so hard that Ron thought the house would fall apart.

"Weren't you a bit hard this time?" asked Ron thoughtfully. This made Fred snort. Ron went back to his drawing. "Have you thought of something to give Mum now? Her birthday is coming up, you know," he reminded his brothers. Fred and George exchanged puzzled looks, then George relaxed his face and nodded. Ron looked at them. "What do you plan to give Mum then?" he asked.

George shrugged. "No idea, but we'll think of something."

Fred nodded. "That we will."

"Maybe a drawing?" George suggested.

"Too dull," replied Fred.

"Hey, mine's a drawing!" interjected Ron.

Fred looked at him. "You've got an excuse, you're still little. Me and George are off to Hogwarts soon and we're not little anymore." He thought for a moment. "How about we all do something for Mum together?" he asked brightly.

Ginny looked up. "What did you have in mind?" she asked. She did want to help and since her older brother Ron didn't seem to want it, she'd take anything from the twins. "Oh can I help, please?" she begged as she jumped towards them. "Please Fred, please George! I do really want to do something for Mum's birthday. Please!" she practically begged.

Charlie came down from the stairs. "I heard someone mention Mum's birthday," he said. He looked at the four of them who were at the living room. "I was just off to buy her a present. Any of you want to come with me?" he asked.

Fred shook his head. "I've got something better in mind," he said.

Charlie looked interested. "What is it?"

"Breakfast in bed!" Fred replied cheerfully. "Mum had been complaining all year that she's got too many to feed. Why can't we make her something? Bill can do magic out of school now. I bet he can help us do the some things we can't." He looked rather happy with his idea. "I don't have a Knut to shell out, but Mum wouldn't mind a breakfast in bed idea," he said.

Charlie nodded. "She won't mind. She'd be delighted." He gave Fred a thump on the back. "For the first time you've got yourself a bloody brilliant idea doing something other than pranks." Fred just grinned at him. Charlie looked at the rest. "I'll hook Bill up into the idea. You talk about the breakfast we ought to give Mum," he said and rushed back upstairs seemingly very excited about what they were going to give their mother for her birthday.

Fred clasped his hands together. "So, what will Mum like?" he asked. He looked at Ron. "Are you in on this or not?" he asked.

"I am," Ron replied, still drawing on his parchment.

Fred snatched the parchment away from him. "Then don't keep on drawing!" he exclaimed. He then looked at the parchment. His face loosened up. "I like you're drawing though," he said in a voice that the rest didn't expect to hear from him after snatching the parchment.

_Scorpius walked behind Fred. He saw a drawing of the whole family, just like the portrait that hung on the wall of their living room. __He saw the very beautiful detail that a nine-year-old could've done. It seemed to be a very thoughtful idea for a gift and he could tell that Ron was doing this with all his love for his mother. He looked at the picture. Ron seemed to have captured the moment just as the portrait they had on the wall. But there was something different about it. __In Ron's point of view, they weren't poor. Their clothes didn't have patches and they seemed very well-off with the wonderful clothing Ron put on them._

_"Dad never said they were poor," Rose said. She could tell what Scorpius was thinking. "He told me that they had a small money problem but it didn't matter much to him. __They didn't need it anyway," she explained. Scorpius just nodded. _

"Carry on with this, Ron," said Fred, handing back the picture to his brother. "Mum will be glad to see it. You'll be the official banner maker and we can stick it to the tray when we serve her the breakfast." He looked up and saw Bill and Charlie coming down from the stairs. "There they are," he said. The older boys walked over to them. "We're going to make Mum a wonderful breakfast," explained Fred.

Bill smiled. "I heard," he replied. "So, any instructions, captain? It's your idea."

George looked around. "Isn't Percy coming to join us?" he asked.

Charlie sighed and shook his head. "You must have played a prank on him not too long ago." The twins looked guilty. "He said he didn't want to breathe the same air with you as of the moment, but wherever he is, I believe he is still breathing the same air." He smiled at the twins. "He'll come around, knowing that Percy. Don't worry about it. He's just a little off right now. Come on, Fred. Tell us what to do then," he said, changing the topic.

Fred pointed to Ron. "He's the official banner maker since he's already been at it since this morning I guess," he explained. He looked over at Ginny. "She'll be the one to do all the stirring since she's too young to do anything else." Ginny frowned at that, but didn't complain. "Bill, you be the one to tell us what to do and do magic if needed. I don't have an idea how to cook." Bill raised his eyebrow, but still nodded. "Charlie looks at everything since he's always watching Mum cook anyway." Charlie nodded. "George will clean after you. I'll keep Mum busy so she doesn't see what we're up to." He winked at George.

Charlie shrugged. "Fair enough for me," he said.

"I wish Percy would join us," said Fred thoughtfully.

Bill gave him an assuring smile. "He'll come around." He looked at his other siblings. "Come on. We need to gather the things we need and set it aside so we won't have a hard time cooking breakfast tomorrow morning. We just need to keep it discreet."

The rest of the afternoon, the Weasley children did what they were supposed to do. Ron went on drawing happily for it was his quaint reminder of his mother's birthday coming that all of this began and he felt a bit proud of himself that this was partly because of him.

"Do we need eggs?" hissed George. Bill turned and nodded. George carried the eggs over to Bill. "Here you go. It's a wonder didn't break them." Bill laughed as he took the box of eggs from George and levitated it to the upper cabinet where they had been stashing everything they needed for the next day. "Any more you need?"

"Bacon," replied Bill.

Charlie scampered all over the place with Ginny trialing behind him. "We need this, and this and yeah this, and this and maybe this too, and this, and this." He handed some things to Ginny which she somehow managed to carry over to Bill.

Later that afternoon, Percy came into the kitchen, surprising the rest. "I heard what you were up to because Fred excitedly passed by my room murmuring about it," he said flatly. He looked at his brothers and sister. "Do you think I can join in it too?" he asked.

"Of course!" said Bill brightly. "Go on, take orders from Charlie over there."

Percy did as he was told. All of them carried on until the dusk came. Ron had finished his drawing by then. He went into the kitchen and saw his tired sibling sitting on the counter talking animatedly about what they were going to make the next day. Ron tilted his head and walked over to them as he showed them the picture he drew.

"Perfect," said Charlie. "You did a great job on it. Mum would surely be happy with her breakfast tomorrow." Fred came into the kitchen as well. "Good thing you're good at keeping Mum busy. Hope you haven't been much of a trouble for her though." Fred simply grinned. Charlie looked around at his brothers and sister. "We're in for a heck of a morning tomorrow."

Ron smiled brightly. "Doesn't matter. We love Mum." All of the others agreed.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

There are no words that can express how I feel  
Ya never kept a secret, always stayed real  
and I appreciate how ya raised me  
and all tha extra love that ya gave me  
I wish I could take tha pain away  
If you can make it through tha night, there's a brighter day  
everything'll be alright if ya hold on  
it's a struggle  
everyday gotta roll on  
and there's no way I can pay ya back  
but my plan is ta show ya that I understand  
you are appreciated...  
_**-2pac-**_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_Rose nudged Scorpius who was staring at the Weasleys. "What's wrong with you?" she asked. Scorpius didn't answer. He had been thinking of his mother and how he never did any effort on her birthdays, just a little gift here and there and that was all. __Rose softly smiled at him. "That's how they kept the family close together, I guess. __They always come up with some plan to work together and I can tell that they're all always ready to give a cheer for Grandma," she said. _

_"Sometimes I don't want to see times like these," said Scorpius sadly. The black scene began surrounding them. Scorpius looked away from the Weasleys. "It's very ironic that while I watch this I want to be a part of your family more and more."_

_Rose giggled. "I hope you'll soon be." Scorpius turned scarlet as everything went blank. _

**A/N: Hope you liked this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think of it.**

**NEXT CHAPTER: Say Goodbye **


	13. Say Goodbye

_"Where are we?" asked Scorpius as he looked around. Rose did too. She looked back at saw the Burrow not too far behind them. Scorpius pointed to the Weasleys who stood in the field. "There they are," he whispered. He cocked his head. "Why are they all looking so sad?" he asked. __Having seen how the Weasleys strived through life, he didn't want them looking sad because they looked very fine when they looked happy. _

_Rose shrugged as she and Scorpius walked over. Rose's eyes shifted to two bags sitting beside Bill. "I think I know what's happening," she muttered. Scorpius looked at her. Rose shook her head. "I'm not too sure. Let's just find out together," she said. _

_"I don't want to see them sad like this," said Scorpius, looking away from the family as if they were his. "They always looked so happy…sometimes sad, but it's different and I don't want to see them sad like that." He couldn't bring his eyes back to look at the Weasleys. He felt his heart would tear in two if he did because his chest was already aching for them. _

_Rose felt the same. She didn't want to see her family look upset. __Whenever she saw them, they always looked as if they never had a problem in their life. Her father had never gone into details of how he lived his childhood, jut some part that made her understand that they were not too well-off. Seeing her father's family right now made her very grateful for what his parents could offer her as she grew up. Rose shifted her eyes from one Weasley face to another. Her heart sank when she saw how broken they looked._

"Bill, are you sure about this? Absolutely sure?" asked Arthur, looking a little melancholic at the moment as he laid his eyes upon his eldest son. "You can stay, you know. Your mother and I, we don't mind about it at all. You're our son and that's what parents are supposed to do, take care of their children," he explained.

Bill gave his father an assuring smile. "I'm okay and I'm really sure about it. I've known this was coming all along. It was my dream since I was a kid and it's time I realize it and make it come true." Molly started to bawl when she heard this. Bill walked over to her and gave hr a tight embrace. "Don't cry, Mum. I promise I'll be back once I get everything settled. I'll come back for Christmas. Just think of it as sending me off to Hogwarts, an extended sending off." His mother cried as she leaned on his chest. "Don't cry, Mum, please," whispered Bill who stroked his mother's hair.

"But you're my baby," sobbed Molly, unwilling to let go of her son. She held him tighter. "You don't have to go off there. Things might happen to you. You can stay here. Find a job here. Settle in here. Bill, please don't go. Bill…" Molly sobbed even more as she repeated his name.

Percy looked at his eldest brother. "When will you be back?" he asked.

"Christmas," Bill said curtly. He turned back to his mother. "Christmas, Mum. I won't miss your wonderful dinner and that chicken." His face unwound as he looked at her. "Mum, I want to be of help. Ron and Ginny would have to go to Hogwarts sooner or later and they'll need things, lots of them. I want to help you and Dad and I want to stop being a burden. I'm old enough to take care of myself from now on. Please, Mum, stop crying."

Molly wiped the tears from her face when she had finally let go of her son. "It's just that…" She looked into Bill's eyes. "It's going to be a lot different without you, Bill. Not seeing your face, maybe for a long time is very hard. You should understand that we can't reach you there because we have to take care of the rest here and…oh Bill!"

Fred piped up, "Who's going to show us how to ride a broom?"

Bill smiled and ruffled Fred's hair. "There's Charlie here to show you that. He's the Quidditch Captain and not me. I'll be back from time to time to teach you. I know you'll be a Quidditch player too someday if not prefect or Head Boy. You're a Weasley." Fred didn't look convinced. "Don't worry, Fred, I'll be back from time to time, I promise you that."

Ginny blinked back tears. "But we'll miss you so much."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, you can't just go off like that. What about us?" he asked.

Bill had always been their big brother who took care of them. He had always been the one to sort out the Weasley children's arguments. He was always the one who stood up for them when something happened. There were many times he took the blame for his younger brothers and sister. Bill had managed to bring them together when everything seemed to be falling apart. He was the one they ran to when they were sad or scared. He was also the one who taught them how to fight for themselves. He was the one who said never to be ashamed of being a Weasley even when teased because Weasleys do their best and that's all what counts, according to him. Bill had always been a stand-in parent when their parents were gone. All of the younger Weasley siblings look helplessly at Bill.

_Scorpius took a deep breath. "Why didn't your dad want to forget this of all the memories?" he asked. He looked at the Weasleys for a moment then at Rose. "It's something I wouldn't put into a pensive. Look, it'__s even affecting me now,__"__ he said emphatically. _

_Rose sighed. "Me too.__ I just wish they didn't have to leave each other. I wish they didn't have to earn that much money to support each other so that they'd stay together. I won't want them to break apart just like this. I know Uncle Bill means well and will come back, but it's going to be different knowing that he won't be coming home every now and then. I can't imagine if Hugo won't come home every now and then like that.__"_

"You don't have to go so far away," said Charlie. "There's a lot to be done here. You can just stay here and work around here. It's another way…" his voice sounded hopeful as he looked at his older brother. They were the closest of age to each other and they were the closest to each other among all the other Weasley siblings, like Fred and George are. "There's got to be another way."

Bill shook his head. "You understand me, don't you, Charlie?"

"I do, but…" Charlie bit his lower lip and looked away from Bill. "It's never going to be the same without you every now and then. You said you weren't going to leave until I graduate from Hogwarts. You promised me that before and I never knew you were going to break your promise." He tried to keep a steady voice.

Ron couldn't hold back his tears any longer. "And you said you'd wait for me until I go to Hogwarts! You promised to see me off." His lower lip quivered. "You said that you'd be there to load my trunk into the train on September first and you wouldn't miss it for the world. You promised that and you've never broken a promise before," he cried.

"I know and I'm sorry," replied Bill.

Ginny started to cry too. "It's unfair you have to go."

Bill crouched down and lifted her head so she'd look into his eyes. "Life isn't fair, remember?" Ginny sniffed as she looked back at Bill. "We all know that already. Don't look so down, Ginny. If I go to Egypt, I promise to send money back. You'll have more dolls, more clothes, and-"

"I don't need dolls and I don't need clothes!" cried Ginny loudly. "In want you, Bill. I want to play with you. I want you to carry me up to my bed when I fall asleep in the couch. I want you to tell me stories about Hogwarts and I want you to see me off to the Hogwarts Express like you promised Ron. I don't want you going off to Egypt!" Bill gave her a hug to calm her down. Watching this made Molly stiff up a bit. "I don't want you to go, Bill."

Ron looked away from Bill. "You're doing this because you think you're too old to play with us," he said grudgingly. "You've always been saying that you're too old for this and that. You just want to go on an adventure without us."

Bill slowly let go of Ginny and shook his head. "That's not why I'm leaving, Ron. I'll never stop playing with you, or any of you for that matter. We'll always be brothers and I'll always come home to the home I know. It's here and I'll never forget that. I'll never trade an adventure for you lot. You're my family and that's nothing I can replace with. Ron, you've got to understand that we all have to grow up sooner or later. You'll be chasing after your own dreams too once you get out of Hogwarts."

_"Can we go now?" asked Scorpius as she shifted his body weight uncomfortably. "I don't like to see this bit. I want to go home, Rose." __He looked at Rose who was now sobbing just like the rest of the Weasleys. "Rose, don't you think it's time that we go now before Ron catches us looking at his pensive?" he asked. Rose didn't move. Scorpius neared her and wrapped her arms around her. "Don't cry along with them. You know I'm already upset just by watching them. __Not you too, Rose."_

_Rose sobbed, "I can't help it! Uncle Bill didn't have to leave. __Look at them." Her eyes shifted over to her father's family as she leaned on Scorpius. "I know Uncle Bill wants to chase his dreams and I know they need the money, but I can't help feel sad that they have to go their own ways after they graduate, only seeing each other on special occasions. It's…" her voice faded. _

_Scorpius stroked her hair. "Everything turned out well. __They were all happy in the long run," he reminded Rose who was still crying on his chest. "I never could understand why my father never helped them. __They're a bunch of nice people if you ask me." He looked at the Weasleys thoughtfully. "They're someone he should have been friends with."_

_"Well, your father was a git,"__ Rose sniffed a reply_

_"Don't push it," said Scorpius._

George looked at Bill. "Can't I go with you too?" he asked. "I'll really be good and I'll carry your bag for you if you want me to," he said hopefully, but Bill shook his head. George pouted. "Why not?" he asked disappointedly.

"Because," Bill started, "you are very much underage and you cannot use a wand yet for one. Then there's the fact that you'd be leaving Fred and he wouldn't be too happy about it." George turned to Fred who nodded in agreement. "Besides, I know I'll bring you to Egypt once I've settled down there. One of these days I'll show you around and what I've found out. I'm sure it will be more exciting that way, won't it?" he said.

Arthur placed his hand on Bill's shoulder. "If this is what you truly wish, then I'm right behind you. If there's anything you need out there, you can just send us a word and we'll be of help in any way." Bill smiled at him. Arthur held out his hand. Bill shook it. Arthur suddenly pulled Bill into a hug. "We're all going to miss you, William," he said.

"I'm going to miss you all too, Dad," replied Bill.

Percy took a deep breath. "Write to us, okay?" he said.

Bill nodded. "I will." He grabbed his bag from the ground and took one last look at his family. "We'll see each other again once I get settled. You'll see. Everything will be better this way. I love you all." He gave them a smile before he Apparated away before them.

This time, Ginny cried loudly. Ron had stopped crying but still felt like doing so. Charlie looked dumbfounded and lost for a moment. Fred fought back tears knowing that he wasn't a child anymore. George looked at the place where Bill had been standing not too long ago and hoped inside him that he'll be back that moment again. Percy looked sad as well to see Bill go. Arthur placed his arms around Molly and let her cry on his shoulder.

"It's everything he's dreamed about and as a family, we have to support him with it," said Arthur, don't he didn't sound too convincing about it. He turned and looked at the rest of the children. "Come on, it's time to have dinner soon. Bill will be back in a few months just as he promised." He gave them all an assuring smile as he walked on with his wife.

The children trailed behind their parents not looking very happy. Ron held Ginny's hand as she cried. He didn't want to see his little sister so sad. He tried to smile for her, though inside he was crying just as much too. He knew that all of them would be missing Bill.

"I wish that I hadn't been mean to Bill sometimes," said Percy, breaking the silence. "I know he was just trying to let me join in the games, but I never listened. If I knew he wouldn't stay after Hogwarts, I would've joined in the games more." He looked very downcast. "I'm sorry I said many nasty things to him, trying to drive him away from my room."

Ron nodded. "I've said a few things that I didn't mean too."

Fred and George looked at each other. "Sometimes I wish we didn't play too much pranks on him," said Fred. "Some of them really bugged him. Maybe it's our fault he wanted to get away from the house. Knowing Bill, he'd want to have his own privacy sometimes." Fred looked away from Bill and then at the grass that they were walking on. "I'm really sorry now," he said.

Charlie turned to Fred. "I'm sure it wasn't because of that. He'd been telling me all along since he was eight that he had always wanted to go to Egypt and work for Gringotts." He didn't feel too cheerful when he said it though. "I'm sure he's very happy right now. He's got a lot ahead of him, that Bill, knowing how talented he is."

George laughed a bit. "Remember the time when I almost fell off that broom?" he asked.

Fred nodded. "Bill caught you then."

Percy turned. "How about the time when you thought you were sick with Dragon Pox and went running all over the house very frantically?" he asked Fred.

"Oh don't remind me," Fred replied, but he gave Percy a twisted smile. "Bill found a way to calm me down. I like the way he makes those hot cocoas with marshmallows even when it isn't even Christmas yet," he said thoughtfully. "I bet Bill's really happy right now. He's off to the land of his dreams, right?"

Ron finally smiled. "Yeah, I guess he's happy right now." Ginny tearfully looked at him. "One day, we'll be able to go off too and make out something. I think Bill's right for chasing his dreams and not let anything hold him down. He's been saying it for many times now, to go off on our own one day and make the best out of ourselves."

Charlie nodded, finally smiling like Ron as well He looked back at the place where his older brother Apparated away. He didn't say anything for a moment, then he turned back to the rest of his siblings. "Looks like Bill is still our role-model," he said.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

In the years to come  
Will you think about these moments that we shared  
In the years to come  
Are you gonna think it over  
And how we lived each day with no regrets  
Nothing lasts forever though we want it to  
The road ahead holds different dreams for me and you  
_**-S Club 7-**_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_Rose and Scorpius didn't say anything__ to each other__ as the surrounding darkened again. __For some reason, Rose felt bitter towards Scorpius and so did Scorpius to her, but they didn't want to admit it to ruin the moment of what they were seeing. _

**A/N: Hope you guys review! Just a little more and we get there! Hehe! Thanks for everything!  
**

**NEXT CHAPTER: I'm Just a Kid**


	14. I'm Just A Kid

_Rose and Scorpius both looked around, still not talking to each other. Scorpius studied the room. Everywhere he could see something about Chudley Cannons posted up. Apparently, Ron was an avid fan of the all-year losers' team, according to Scorpius. He glanced at Rose who was looking around as well, but she didn't seem to want to talk to him._

_Rose walked over to her father's bed. He was sitting on the bed looking absolutely bored. She looked around and found the many posters of the Chudley Cannons. She didn't fancy Quidditch too much thus she couldn't disapprove his taste of teams. She stole a glimpse at Scorpius to see if he was willing to talk to her, but she seemed too busy looking around the room so she didn't make a sound. _

_"This is ridiculous, I'm, getting out of here," said Scorpius. Rose quickly grabbed his shir__t. __Although Scorpius was glad that she did, he didn't show it. "If you want to stay, go ahead. I'm going back home whether you like it or not." He looked into her eyes, practically begging that she pull him back. Much to his dismay, Rose didn't. _

_Rose nodded understandingly. "Okay, you go ahead. I'm sorry for what I said about your father though." She turned back and looked at Ron. Slowly, she walked away from Scorpius who didn't feel to high and mighty anymore. __"See you when we get to Hogwarts then, Scorpius," she said. _

_Scorpius stopped. "Are you all right alone?" he asked. Rose nodded, but she didn't look at him. __Scorpius took a deep breath. "Are you sure you don't need me to stay here with you?" he asked hopefully. Rose nodded again. His heart sank. He didn't want to leave Rose alone at all. Besides, he and Rose had never been into an argument before, not even a little one. "You sure you're okay without me?" he asked again, hoping she'd shake her head this time. _

_"Just go, Scorpius," said Rose __coldly_

"Ron? Are you in there?" Arthur popped his head into the room. "Ron, I'm sorry. I know I promised to spend some time with you and go watch the Quidditch game but work's been very busy lately. You have Ginny to keep you company while I'm gone. She's just as lonely as you are when you don't play with her," he reminded Ron, but the boy didn't even budge. "When have you started being as stubborn as Fred and George?" asked Arthur as he placed is hand softly on Ron's head.

Ron didn't answer. He pulled away from his father. He turned and lay flat on his back and looked up at his posters. Arthur sadly stood up from his son's bed. He looked at him one last time before leaving Ron to himself. Ron turned and watched his father leave. His blue eyes faced no trace of happiness in them like he usually had. Ron turned back to his posters and stared ay them.

A knock came to the door. "Ronald?" Ron twitched. Molly came inside. "Ron, I just saw your father come down from the stairs and he looked very disappointed. I'm just as disappointed to see that you can treat your father that way. You know very well that he wanted to take you to the game but there isn't much time because he's got-"

"Work," Ron finished. "I know." He turned his back at his mother. "I know. You don't hear me complaining, do you? I'm all right with it, okay? I just want to stare at the posters right now and imagine I'm watching it," he said grudgingly, evident that he wasn't all right with it.

"Don't give me that tone of voice, Ron," Molly said warningly. Ron nodded halfheartedly. Molly sighed in frustration as she looked at her dejected son. "I know you were hoping that you and your father would go, but we can't afford a day off when work is calling. You know that very well." Ron nodded again. "Ron, what do you want me to say to convince you that your father is really sorry that he couldn't take you to the game?" she asked.

Ron shook his head. "Nothing," he replied. "I'm okay. I'll be down for lunch in a while."

"Ginny misses you," said Molly flatly. "She's been asking if you'd like to play Wizard's Chess all morning. You can go out and fly with her if you want. I'll give you permission this time." Molly knew she couldn't blame her son for behind downhearted. Arthur had promised him over and over for this day and it was broken. Ron shook his head. Molly walked over to him. "I know what you feel, but you can't go on like this until you're ready to give it up. Think of your sister," she said.

"Mmm," said Ron.

Molly shook her head. "If you want to waste your life all day then so be it. I just want to remind you that you won't be here for long. Soon you'll be off to Hogwarts and I am sure that you'll miss staying in this house like you do now." Ron didn't move. Molly left the room and went down stairs without another word to her son.

_"Sometimes you act like your father," said Scorpius calmly as he looked at Rose. "You do know as much as he does that you need to talk to someone." Rose looked back at Scorpius. "Come on, Rose. You know I won't go anywhere and leave you hanging." Rose blinked twice while looked unbelievingly at him. "Okay, I'm sorry for overreacting about what you said about that. Yes, he can be a git sometimes to me too and I have to admit that."_

_Rose finally smiled. "We're even now?" she asked. _

_"Yeah," replied Scorpius. "We're even."_

Ron looked up upon hearing loud footsteps near his room. Ginny entered without hesitation. "I saw Dad," she said panting. "He was looking really upset. I thought maybe you could go tell him that it's all right that he didn't take you to the game and he'll be happy again." She looked at her brother. "Well, aren't you the ungrateful one right now," she said.

"Get off my case," mumbled Ron.

Ginny frowned. "You know I can't do that when the house is this quiet and everybody is looking very sullen. You started this." She walked over to Ron and placed her hands on her hips. "I'm younger than you and I understand Dad. Why can't you? You know Dad wanted to take you too. What would Bill and Charlie say if they were here? You look like a spoiled brat to me," she said firmly.

Ron looked at her. "Get away from my room, will you?" he said angrily and threw a pillow at her. Ginny caught the pillow before it hit her. She stared at her brother. Ron had never thrown anything at her before even if he was upset. "What are you looking at? I just told you to get away, didn't I?" he said as he stood up from his bed.

"How could you be so callous towards Dad?" asked Ginny as she threw the pillow back at Ron. "You know he tries his best to please us all. You deal things worse than Percy." She glared at Ron. She never had to do it before, but she thought Ron had gone overboard with his childishness. "You're going off to Hogwarts in a year and you think it's funny to see everything like this? What would Bill say?" she asked hotly.

"Bill is gone and stop using his name as an excuse." Ron walked over to the doorway. "Didn't I just tell you earlier to get out?" he asked.

Ginny spun and looked at him. "I won't until you apologize to Dad."

"What's going on in here?" Molly appeared by the doorway. She looked at her two angry-faced children. "I will not have this yelling in this house. Ronald, you are not to yell at your sister like that at any cause. She has as much right to be in your room as anyone else in this household." Se turned to Ginny. "Ron is still your older brother and you have to give him some respect."

Ginny threw a dirty look at Ron. "Who'd want to respect a brother who doesn't even do it to his dad," she said in a disgusted tone of voice.

"That's enough, Ginny," scolded Molly.

Ginny huffed and turned and stomped down the stairs. Ron grabbed his pillow from the floor and threw it to his bed. He sat down and looked away from his mother. He knew all too well that she was going to scold him too. Ron looked outside the window and took a deep breath. He counted from one to ten to calm him a down, a trick Charlie had taught him.

"You did not have to yell so much," said Molly coolly. "Ginny is just a little girl and didn't want to see her father sad. I believe you don't either, knowing you." She walked closer to Ron, but not close enough for her to reach out to him. "You're growing up now and it's time you make choices of your own. I don't want to keep telling you what to do. Like Fred and George, at some point I their lives, I have to let them go. It's time for you to grow up too. I don't take it against you for feeling upset, but it's how you handle your emotions that make you a likeable person." Molly looked at her son for a moment before leaving the room and closing the door behind her as she did.

_Rose looked at Scorpius. "He's got a hot temper," she muttered. Scorpius nodded having seen Ron lose his temper sometimes. Rose looked at him. "Dad must've really wanted to go to that game seeing how __worked up he is when he couldn't I haven't seen Dad so angry about trivial things up until now," she explained. _

_"He's just a kid," replied Scorpius. "I can understand that he's angry. __I get heated up too when Dad promises me to go to matches and says he couldn't. It's a hard feeling getting all worked up for nothing." He looked at Rose. "Haven't you felt the same way when your dad promises you something he never really does?" he asked. _

_Rose shook her head. "He hasn't broken a promise of taking me somewhere yet."_

_"Lucky you," said Scorpius._

Ron lay on his bed for a while and stared at the ceiling again. He shifted his eyes from one poster to another. He felt a little guilty now that he has calmed down a bit. Ron closed his eyes and sighed. He just wished for his older brothers to come home soon. When he felt really bad, they were always there to make him smile. Now that they have gone, it was hard to do so, especially with Ginny being upset with him for she was the only one he could talk to.

_"He's looking really lonely," said Rose. "Without Uncle Fred and Uncle George, the house does seem a lot quieter." She walked near her father who seemed to be thinking very deeply about something. "Scorpius, what does it feel like to have a busy dad?" She looked up at Scorpius. "My dad never works for more than eight hours a day unless it's really important and he always takes us out on the weekends wherever we want to go."_

_Scorpius thought for a moment. "It's so stressful sometimes, watching Dad seemingly twenty-four seven. Many times I want him to stop and take me somewhere but I know I can't say anything to him. He'll just bite my head off if I do," he explained. _

_"But you're filthy rich," countered Rose. _

_Scorpius shrugged. "I guess it's more than money when it comes to my Dad." He looked at Ron who was still looking pretty bitter about the situation. "I bet if your grandfather had the money he would have taken your dad to the game right now. __He's looking very upset. I'm amazed he hasn't thrown quite a fit. I used to when I was his age," he confessed. _

Ron squirmed in frustration. He turned and buried his face on his pillow. "It's unfair!" he grumbled. "It's unfair that he doesn't take me out. He takes Bill, he takes Charlie, he takes the twins, and he takes even Percy to the games. But no, not Ron. He's always too little. He won't understand it yet. When am I no too little to go to a game then? Now that I'm off to Hogwarts soon, they don't have _time!_" Ron could feel his anger beat his chest.

Suddenly, something tapped his window. He turned and saw Errol. He let the owl in. The owl dropped a letter into his hands and then went back outside. Ron blinked as he tore open the letter. His eyes scanned through the whole thing for a few seconds and then he threw it aside. He went back to his bed and buried his face again.

_"What does it say?" asked Scorpius. He and Rose walked over to look at the letter. "I'll read it. __Hey Ron, it's Fred. Hogwarts is the best place there is to be. I'll soon send you off a piece from the wall, I promise. Hope and Ginny have been getting along without us. It won't kill you to pull a prank at each other right? You know what the best part is? Mum is not here to bark orders at us. We got into detention again, but it's not that bad. Anyway, I hope to see you on Christmas! Write back all right? Tell me the fun you're having. Cheers, brother."_

_Rose raised an eyebrow. "__Cheers?" She gave Scorpius a smile. "I told you getting detention isn't that bad. Look, they do enjoy it like I do." Scorpius tilted his head. "Oh don't ruin the fun, Malfoy," she snapped at him playfully. _

Ron turned and faced the ceiling again. "They always get the fun and I'm always stuck here alone doing nothing. Funny how that always happens." Ron placed his arm on his forehead and closed his eyes. "Fun, huh?" He yawned before turning to his side.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

I'm just a kid  
And life is a nightmare  
I'm just a kid  
I know that it's not fair  
Nobody cares cuz I'm alone and the world is having more fun than me

_**-Simple Plan-**_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_"He must be falling asleep," sad Rose. Scorpius nodded. Rose looked at him. "I guess I shouldn't say dad never understands me from now.__ I always do complain that he never understands me when I can't go malling with my Muggle friends from time to time.__" She looked at her father's face as it slowly faded. "I guess he understands me more than anyone in this world does." _

**A/N: Thanks for reading, now please review. Sorry for the very late updates though...Been a bit busy and have limited time to internet access, hope you understand. Again, please review, thanks! **

**NEXT CHAPTER: Christmas is for Family **


	15. Christmas is for Family

_"Look, it seems to me like it's the holidays again," Rose said as she looked at the Weasleys enter the house. Her eyes searched for a person. "Scorpius, do you see Uncle Bill anywhere?" she asked as she looked from face to face in search of him. Scorpius shook his head. "Guess he's not coming this year," she said succinctly. _

_Just as Scorpius was about to reply, there was a loud crack from the back door. Scorpius turned and saw the doorknob slowly open. He smiled when he saw Bill enter the house very cheerfully. The younger Weasleys ran across the room to greet him. __Scorpius studied him. Bill had thinned a bit and his hair seemed to have done the same, maybe because of stress. He still had those wild freckles all over his face and the cheerful smile along with it which made him the Bill everyone knew. _

"Happy Christmas to you too, Ginny," Bill said as he gave his sister a hug. He looked at the other boys. "So how's it been going?" he asked. His eyes shifted to Ron. "I believe you've grown another inch. At this rate, you might be taller then Fred and George in no time." He looked at the twins who did not seem to be too happy upon hearing it. "But they're Fred and George all the same," Bill added to soften them both to a smile.

Molly walked over to Bill. "Oh you do look peaky. Have you been eating right?" she asked. Bill laughed and embraced her as well. She kissed his cheek. "Come on in. The weather outside is biting cold and I daresay you don't stand a chance against it." She ushered Bill into the room and by the fireplace where Arthur was.

"Glad to see you, son," he said. Bill nodded. Arthur stood up and shook Bill's hand. "I've heard a lot of compliments about you recently when I visit Gringotts. I'm glad that you have finally found your calling." Arthur couldn't help but be proud of Bill.

_Scorpius turned his eyes to the stack of presents just as he saw not to long ago apparently years back from the Weasleys. __It seemed to have the same pile, although there were slightly different of box sizes. He looked at the Weasley fireplace. Red stocking hung all over them, each with the children's name written on it. It was evident that Molly had knitted them for the children. __He looked at the Weasleys feet. They all had seemingly warm socks now, much to Scorpius's delight._

Bill looked around. "Where's Charlie?" he asked. He looked back at the rest of his family.

"He wrote," said Ron suddenly. "He said he wouldn't be home for Christmas this year. He's going to stay at Hogwarts with his girlfriend." There was an evident tone of sadness in Ron's voice. He always looked forward to holidays because he would be able to see all the people in his family again and it didn't make him too happy when Charlie said he wouldn't be coming home.

Bill raised his eyebrow at his father. "And you allowed him, Dad?"

Arthur shrugged. "He's no longer a child, Bill. He can make his own decisions. I let you make yours when you turned fifteen." Bill looked just as upset as Ron when he heard. He sat on the couch by the fire. "I'm going to ask him to come by this Easter though. It would be too much if he didn't," he said dryly as he looked at the crackling fire.

Ginny squatted on the floor. "What's Egypt like, Bill?" she asked, hoping to take away the sadness in his face. She had missed Bill so much when he had gone and she'd rather have him smiling than worrying about Charlie.

Bill looked at her. "It's hot in the summer," he replied. "I think it's all right. Everyone's really nice there and I like my job. I'm not much but a trainee, but it keeps me going." He sat down on the couch and leaned back. "It's a tiring job being a Curse Breaker, but I enjoy going inside those ancient tombs the old wizards cast upon. It's funny at time to see their amateur work, but some are very good. I can tell. My trainer taught me well," he explained.

"Will we be able to go to Egypt someday?" asked Ron, looking interested now.

Bill nodded. "If you'd like to. I'm sure we'd figure out a way for you all to come with me." He looked at Arthur who nodded. Bill reached into his pocket. "Here are some photos me and my co-trainees took. There are seven of us there. I'm glad I took the job. It's got low salary but I'm sure I can work my way up from there," he said.

"Don't worry about the money," said Molly as she entered the room with a tray of hot chocolate. "Just make sure that you're enjoying it. It's most important in a job." She looked at her husband and gave him a pleasant smile. "Isn't that right, Arthur?" she said. Molly took a mug from the tray and handed it to her husband.

Arthur took a sip and nodded. "All too true, Dear."

_"I wouldn't trade this kind of family for a girlfriend," said Scorpius in a low voice, but Rose managed to catch what he said. She looked at him gently. Scorpius looked back at her. "Really, I won't. I mean, you said it yourself. Christmas is for family." He looked at Bill's direction. "I think Bill was hoping to see Charlie. The two of them are like Fred and George in a way," he said. _

_Rose nodded thoughtfully. "You can say that again. I wouldn't trade a boyfriend for my family either." She looked at Scorpius. "It doesn't have to be this kind of family. Whatever kind of family you have, that's your family." She neared Scorpius. "__One d__ay, you'll see.__Us__ Weasleys aren't so different from the Malfoys if you look hard enough.__"_

Bill took a mug from the tray. He looked at his three younger brothers who had come back from Hogwarts. "So how was your term?"

"Great," said Fred with pleasure. "I ended up in detention only twice a week." Bill looked amused. "George and I found a lot of neat things around the castle too." He looked sideways at his suspicious mother. "But we don't do anything to the neat things," he added knowing that questions would come from his mother later.

George nodded in agreement with his twin. "Yes, it was neat. Everything was more than we expected. We never missed one of Charlie's games." His eyes sparkled. There seemed to be a more solid reason to be there than to just be of moral support to his brother.

Percy slanted his head. "It was okay," he reported.

Bill smiled. "That's great to hear." He turned to Ron and Ginny. "Don't worry. You'll be off to Hogwarts before you know it. You'll going to be telling me about your times at Hogwarts soon." Ron smiled back at him. "Now that's the Ronald I know," said Bill. He turned to the window in front of him. "There seems to be a blizzard out there," he muttered.

Ron turned too. "I heard there was going to be one this Christmas. I saw the weather forecast of the Daily Prophet." He turned back to Bill. "Guess what, Bill? I've read the Daily Prophet since you left and I've never stopped. I'm reading regularly now like the way you said I should." He looked very proud of himself as he said it.

Bill laughed. "Good for you."

The family gathered around by the cozy fire. "Come on now, it's time to have our dinner," Arthur said as he set the mug on the rundown coffee table in front of him. He clasped his hands together and turned to his family. They didn't look too cheerful as they ought to be. "How about a Christmas song? Where's the Christmas spirit? Bill is here to join us!" he pointed out.

"Charlie isn't," Ron mumbled grudgingly.

Arthur waved his hand. "Charlie doesn't know what he's missing. He'll come around and he'll be here next year, I'm sure of it. Come on, it's Christmas! Don't be so dull about it." Arthur walked over to the dining table. "Come on now, boys, Ginny. Gather around." He looked at Molly. "Let's start dinner so we can open the presents earlier tonight. Wouldn't you like that?" he asked.

"Christmas isn't the same without Charlie," Ginny suddenly said.

"Yeah," Fred agreed.

Molly sighed. "Come on you lot, we're going to have Christmas dinner now." She smiled at her children and walked off to the kitchen. "Every one of you go wash up now. I'll have dinner served in a while. Ginny, come in here for a moment please," she said as some pots and pans clanged.

Ron looked back at the kitchen for a moment before going up the stairs to wash. He followed his older brothers to the bathroom. He studied Bill's face. It looked uptight like it never did before when Christmas comes around. Ron didn't take his eyes off of Bill. He had never seen him like this before. He felt sorry that Charlie did not want to see them in a family holiday. He knew Bill was looking forward to meet them all after being gone for some time.

"I won't be here next Christmas," said Bill suddenly, making all the boys turn and stare at him. "Don't tell Mum and Dad yet. I know they'll be upset when they hear it, but I need to stay at work for some time. I just got off the hook this time because I really told them I was homesick. They sent me here with a warning that I must not appeal to come home again unless I'm fully trained," he explained.

Ron looked shocked. "What about seeing Charlie next Christmas?" he asked.

Bill's eyes dropped. "I guess I won't."

Ron's throat tightened. "But Charlie would want to see you." He looked at Bill's sad face. He sighed heavily and turned to the faucet. He didn't want any on of them looking down on Christmas day. He shoved his hands inside his pocket. "Charlie should have come home this Christmas then." He turned to Bill. "Why don't we send him an owl then?" he asked.

"The more he'd refuse," replied Fred unhappily. "You know Charlie. He wants to be the boss of himself. He hates it when people persuade him to do something he had already decided against." He and George walked out of the bathroom. "Let's just forget about him for tonight. It's Christmas. There are a lot of presents to be opened. I bet we'll enjoy it this time around."

Percy walked out of the bathroom and put on a smile. "Fred's right. I saw something interesting this year, bigger boxes." Without another word, he walked towards the staircase and started to go down. The other boys followed his lead and did the same.

"Happy Christmas, Weasleys!" greeted Arthur as all the boys filled the room.

"Happy Christmas," the boys chorused lamely.

They all gathered around the table. Molly levitated all the dishes to the middle of the table. George was first to reach out to the food. The clicking of the silverwares was heard next. Everybody ate in silence and there seemed to be no one too happy about dinner. It was unusual for the Weasleys to eat without someone telling about their term. Most of the time dinners was the best meal of the day because of each others' stories.

"Don't be gloomy during dinner," snapped Molly as she looked at her children. "Not everyone has dinner on Christmas. Now smile, everyone." She tried to smile at them, but she could feel the void too. She looked at Charlie's chair and knew why no one had been smiling, but she could feel that there was more to that. The boys seemed even more downcast now that she had looked closely. "Is there something you boys are not telling me?" she asked.

All of them shook their heads. Arthur looked at them suspiciously. "After raising Fred and George for ten years, I have quite a doubt that this is nothing. What is it that you are not telling us?" he addressed the boys in a calm manner.

"Nothing," murmured Percy. "It's nothing, Dad."

Not wanting to ruin the night more than it already is, Molly stood from her seat. "Okay, I believe you," she said. Arthur looked at her, but she shook her head. "Now that I see that everyone's done, let's all gather in the living room and open presents." Her voice didn't seem too thrilled about it as much as she tried to. Everyone pushed away from the table and stood up. They all followed Molly into the living room. "Youngest first," Molly reminded them. She smiled nicely at Ginny. "You go ahead, Dear."

Ginny weakly reached for her present. She slowly tore it open. "A sweater," she muttered. She looked at her mother with grateful eyes. "Thanks, Mum, Happy Christmas," she said. Although she was indeed grateful, the thought of not having one of her brothers wasn't very merry. They had always celebrated the holidays together and there was never a year when they hadn't.

"Next, Ron," said Arthur.

Just as Ron was about to reach for his present, the front door swung open. The Weasleys all looked up. Arthur's heart slightly pounded in fear. A dark shadow appeared before the door. None of the Weasleys moved until the person stepped out from the dark, apparently shivering.

"Merlin, it's cold outside," said Charlie as he stepped into the living room.

"Charlie!" exclaimed Ron. He was the first one to jump and run to his brother. He threw his arms around Charlie making Charlie fall back a little. Charlie managed to keep his balance. He smiled as he looked at Ron. "I thought you weren't coming!" he exclaimed.

Charlie smiled and tried to pry Ron off of him. He looked at the rest of the family. "What's a Weasley Christmas without Charlie?" he asked. He looked up and saw Bill. "Merlin, Bill! You're here! I can't believe it." Bill smiled and stood up from the floor. Ron stepped aside for both brothers to hug each other. "It's been a while, Bill. I never thought you'd actually come home for Christmas." His eyes sparkled as he looked at Bill. "It's a good thing I came home."

"I thought you had already replaced us with your girlfriend," said Bill, laughing.

Charlie waved his hand. "Nah, Christmas is for family and we're not family yet. I told her that if we were really meant to be, we'd be celebrating Christmas together if we get married someday." His mother walked to him with a blanket and wrapped it around him. She took the opportunity to wrap her arms around him as well. Charlie chuckled and hugged his mother back. "I'm sorry for making you think I wasn't coming. Happy Christmas, Mum." Molly slowly let go of him and nodded.

Ginny danced her way to him. Charlie bent down and she gave him a kiss. "I missed you," Ginny said in a small voice which made Charlie smile. Charlie scooped her up. Ginny threw her hands up to the sky. "I can't be carried now, I'm eight years old!" she exclaimed, but she rather enjoyed it when Charlie carried her in his arms.

"You're still my little sister no matter how old you get," said Charlie as he set her down.

Arthur walked towards his son. He gave Charlie a thump on the back. "I honestly thought I wouldn't be seeing you. I'm glad you decided to join us this time of year." Charlie smiled and nodded. Arthur held out his hand. "You're not a boy anymore. In a few months, you'll turn out to be a man. I hope it is a fine one too," he said.

Charlie took his father's hand and shook it. "Oh, I will be," he promised.

Fred looked at Charlie. "Glad to have you here again!" He had a wide grin on his face. He turned back to the presents. "Ron, hurry up you little git," he said jokingly. "You open your present now so that George and I can open ours," he said.

Ron went to his present and opened it. It was a new pair of shoes and another Chudley Cannons poster. He looked at his parents gratefully and gave both a hug. Molly and Arthur enjoyed their children smiling and were happy to see them so.

Ron quickly tried on his shoes. They fitted him perfectly. "These are the best, Dad, Mum. Happy Christmas!" "You know what's the best gift yet this year?" said Ron suddenly, speaking his mind. Everyone turned to look at him. Ron's face lit up. "Everyone's come home." Ron looked at his gifts, then at Bill and Charlie. At that moment, it didn't matter to hi whether he had new shoes or posters as the moment. All that mattered was that he had a Christmas to celebrate with his family. You can tell by the look of his dazzling eyes.

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I don't want a lot for Christmas  
There's just one thing I need  
I don't care about the presents  
Underneath the Christmas tree  
I just want you for my own  
More than you could ever know  
Make my wish come true  
All I want for Christmas is..  
You

_**-Mariah Carrey-**_

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_"That ended well," said Scorpius, smiling. "I knew that Charlie wouldn't be able to resist a family like this. Who would? With all the warm feelings around every time they were together no matter where they are.__ It's not something you can find in shops, you know. It's not actually for trade if you ask me, no matter what the trade is.__" Rose laughed a bit. Scorpius turned to her. "What?" asked Scorpius._

_Rose grinned. "I never knew you had a soft side__ on you__," she said. The scene started to fade away. Rose looked at the Weasley family for the last time as all of them settled in and found a family in each other warmly.__ "But I guess you're right. It's nothing up for trade. It's a lifetime…"_

**A/N: Thanks forall those reviews that have been coming in. Please read and review this one too.  
**

**NEXT CHAPTER: You'll Be Safe Here**


	16. You'll Be Safe Here

_"Hey look over there, Rosie," said Rose, pointing to a huge slide. He smiled. "I know this place. It's the park Mum took me to when I was little." He walked over to a slide. Rose followed closely behind him. "I remember this," he whispered. He tried to touch to slide, but his hand passed through it. "I remember this, but it seemed so much bigger to me then." He looked at Rose who was looking the other way. "Rose? What's wrong?" Scorpius asked. _

_Rose shook her head. "Nothing," she replied. Scorpius looked at the direction of Rose's sight. He spotted Ron and his younger sister standing by the swing. "Come on, Scorpius. Let's go see what's happening there," she said. She took Scorpius's hand and pulled her across the park to where his father and Ginny was standing. _

_Scorpius looked at Ron. He __was dressed up properly, unlike the other memories he had seen. Ginny was also dressed the same. He looked around. There seemed to be nobody around but the two of them. Scorpius studied Ginny's face. She looked very upset. Ron didn't have a disappointed expression, but Scorpius could tell that he was being saddened by Ginny's unhappiness as of the moment. __Scorpius examined the situation, but there seemed to be nothing apart from the two. _

_Rose stepped forward. "Auntie Ginny's crying," she said softly. __She crouched down and looked at Ginny's face. She was sobbing continuously. Rose looked up at her father. He seemed to be very casual about this, but not all too happy to see Ginny. "What happened?" she whispered as she tried to touch Ginny's hair, but it was a simple memory which she cannot reach out to. _

"I know they'll be here, Ginny. If they told you they'll be," said Ron in assurance to his sister. He placed his arm around her. Ginny leaned on him and sobbed on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Ginny, they'll be here. I know it." Ron's voice didn't sound very convincing. He looked at his sister and held her closer to him. "Don't worry. It's all right, Ginny. They'll be here."

"No they won't!" Ginny cried. "It was just a trick. They knew I was going to fall for it." She buried her face on Ron's shoulder. "They knew I would be excited and come here. They weren't serious about it. Who would be serious about inviting be to their birthday party? I should've listened to Mum. She knew it already and I closed my ears to her." She cried even more as she said this. "We should've stayed at home. I'm sorry, Ron."

Ron shook his head. "I'm not complaining about anything, Gin. I like it out here. It's good to get some little sunshine once in a while." Ginny did not stop crying. Ron sighed. He had no clue what to do about his younger sister. He made her laugh once in a while, but he had never seen her this upset before. She usually held her head up high at sad situations and made the best out of it. Ron looked around. "They'll be here, Ginny."

_Scorpius looked sideways at Rose. "Who do you think they're waiting for?" he asked. Rose shrugged and shook her head. Scorpius looked at Ron and Ginny's clothes. "Looks like they did dress up for whoever birthday party it would have been." He looked at Ginny thoughtfully. "She must be really heartbroken right now to find out they didn't really include her in it."_

_Rose nodded. "I know what that feels. Remember when you asked me to come to your party and you said on the last minute that I couldn't come after all? I remember that clearly. I think we weren't more than eleven then, or I wasn't," she said as she looked at the sky above her._

_Scorpius frowned. "That wasn't my fault. Dad said I couldn't. I tried to convince__ him__ though, I swear."_

_Rose laughed. "I know you did, Malfoy." Scorpius smiled. Rose nodded to Ginny. "__With friends like you, who needs enemies?" Scorpius raised at eyebrow, his eye twitching. Rose stuck her tongue out on him playfully. "You always take me too seriously!" she exclaimed. __Scorpius's face relaxed a bit. Rose neared him. "Though that's what I like about you sometimes."_

"They don't know what they're missing when they didn't intentionally invite you," said Ron. He started to walk, still with an arm around Ginny. "Come on, you. Let's go home and have dinner then. I'm sure Mum would have something for you to eat. Don't worry, Ginny. Once we get to Hogwarts, I'm sure we'll find real friends that will invite us to real parties and we'll really enjoy them." Ron smiled for his sister, something he knew Bill would have done.

Not long after then had taken a few steps, someone called. "Hey Weasley." Ron and Ginny turned at the same time. A blonde-haired girl stood in the middle of the park by the slide. "I thought you'd never show up. Come over here. We're about to start the party." Ginny's face lit up. She looked at Ron who looked delighted for her. The both of them walked over to the blonde-haired girl. "Uh, I think there's a mistake here," said the girl. She glanced at Ron. "I believe that I only invited you."

Ginny blinked. "But Ron's my brother," she said.

The blonde-haired girl shook her head. "We only have enough space for one Weasley. It's either he doesn't come or both of you don't." She sounded very sure of what she had just said. "Well? What is it then? We don't have all day, Ginerva."

Ron slowly let go of Ginny. "Go on," he said. "I'll be back to pick you up in an hour. Make sure to meet me by the swings." Ginny looked at him uncertainly for a moment. Ron had been waiting too since they thought that he could come along. Ron threw his head back. "It's all right, Gin. I promise I'll pick you up later." He looked at the blonde-haired girl. "Happy birthday, Penny." He turned around and walked away from the girls.

_"Dad's really nice to Auntie Ginny," said Rose as he watched his young father walk back to the swings. He looked a bit cheerful for a moment, then not too long after, downcast. __Rose frowned. "But I think he did want to go to the party as well. __Who wouldn't feel left out?" She turned around. "Auntie Ginny should have said no and be with Dad."_

_Scorpius shook his head. "There are times that you should pry away from your family too. You wouldn't want to hang around Hugo all day, would you?" __Rose shook her head. "Maybe that's what Ginny felt and Ron knows it. I think they're pretty close for siblings," he observed. _

_Rose shrugged. "I don't know. __Auntie Ginny told me that she never tells Dad everything. When Dad became Uncle Harry's best friend, they grew even further away from each other. __Dad said it might have been because she didn't want Uncle Harry to know that she liked him, but Dad said that when the years go by and you don't hang around with your sibling long enough anymore, it just drifts away," she explained._

Ron sat on the swing. "Happy birthday, Penny. Happy Birthday, Penny. Happy Birthday dear Penny. Happy Birthday, Penny," he muttered as he swung himself. He looked at the sky and closed his eyes. The wind blew past his flaming red hair, causing them to move away from his face. His eyes shone brightly as the sun rays touched his face. He looked his best at that one particular moment as he tried to hide all that he felt.

After a while of swinging, Ron jumped off the swing. He felt the cool breeze pass him. With hands inside his pockets he walked towards his house, thinking he would just pick his sister up in a while after she had her party. Ron tried to hold his head up high as he neared the Burrow. His eyes, obviously filled with hurt, sought for his home.

"Why so early, Dear?" asked Molly as she came out from the kitchen and saw Ron come through the front door. Molly stopped and looked at him. "Are you all right? Did something happen? Where' Ginny? I thought she was with you when you went out," she said. Ron looked at her and was about to reply when Molly interrupted him. "Do you want a Chocolate Frog? I've got one last in the kitchen. Found it in the twins' room. I know you collect the cards."

Ron smiled weakly and shook his head. "No thanks. I'm not up for eating chocolates right now." He turned to the couch. He ran his hand through the cushion to make sure there weren't any pins and needles before he sat on it. He leaned back and closed his eyes. "Mum, can you wake me up after an hour? I need to pick Ginny up from the party," he said.

Molly looked at him benevolently. "Do you want me to pick her up instead? I know you can manage on your own for a couple of minutes here by yourself. You don't need to go all the way to the park to pick her up if you're not up to it." She didn't know what went on in the park, but she had a feeling that whatever it was, it did upset Ron. Knowing him, he'd keep all his thoughts to himself and won't notice the sadness on his face even if he tried to smile.

Ron shook his head. "Don't worry, Mum, I can't manage," he replied.

Molly eased her face. She smiled a bit. "I am going to miss you here," she said. "In a year, you'd be off to Hogwarts with the other boys. I'm sure Ginny would miss you too if you were gone." She walked over to her son. Ron opened his eyes and sat up. Molly sat down beside him. She softly stroked his hair. "Smile for me, Ron. You look the handsomest when you do," she said.

Ron managed a little smile. "Like this?" he asked. Molly laughed and nodded. "Mum," whispered Ron, "thanks." Molly hugged her son and Ron hugged her back. As they let go of each other, Ron smiled wider this time. "I promise to write everyday when I go to Hogwarts. It would be like as if I've never gone," he said brightly. He had turned back to his usual self now.

Molly stood up from the couch. "Oh I do hope so." She gave him one last look. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," she said and walked off. "Oh and Ron, what would you like for dinner. Your father sent me an owl saying he'd come home late. That leaves you and me and probably Ginny when she gets home hungry."

"Anything Mum," replied Ron. He leaned back on the couch again and slowly closed his eyes. "I'm just in for a nap, Mum. Wake me up if you need anything." Ron shifted his body comfortably on the couch and put his feet up on the shabby coffee table in front of him.

_"Likes to act like the little boss, doesn't he?" said Scorpius. The scene around his started to darken. "I think we're off to another memory. He's about to doze off and for the past few times we find another memory of his." He smiled at Rose who was no once again looking disappointed. "I told you to ask him about it," he said. _

_Rose shook her head. "No way am I going to do that." The scene started to lighten again, much to the two teenagers' surprise. __"It's coming back. Scorpius, what's happening here?" she asked as the darkening turned into another colorful scene which looked like it was back where it had been left off. "We're here again."_

_"He didn't take the memory out," replied Scorpius. _

"She won't. She's at a party," said Ron curtly.

Molly poked her head out of the kitchen. "She can't be," she said. Ron quickly looked up. Molly glanced back at the Weasley clock. "It says here that Ginny's travelling." She looked anxious now. "Ron, would you mind finding her?" She looked back at the clock. "Yes, she is still travelling. Tell her to come home now. I want to have a word with her, that Ginny."

Ron jumped from the couch. "On it," he muttered. Without another word from his mother, he walked out of the house. "Ginny, where are you?" He walked down the dust road and back towards the park where he had promised to pick her up. He walked faster as he looked at the sky above him. The sun was being clouded now and it looked as if it was about to rain soon. He reached the park and walked over to the swing set. "Ginny?" He walked around the park twice desperately looking for her. "Ginny?"

"Are you looking for a little girl about this tall?" a man suddenly asked as he held his hand up to his chest. Ron nodded. The man thought for a moment. "I saw her walked around by herself all day. She seemed upset about something then she walked off to that direction," he explained as he pointed north of the park.

Ron smiled. "Thanks," he said and took the man's lead. "Ginny! Ginny, where are you?" He walked faster. He looked at the sky. A raindrop fell. Ron picked up his pace once more as he called his sister. "Ginny, it's Ron! Where are you?" His heart thumped and he could feel it as if it was beating out of his chest. "Ginny!"

The rain began to fall hard. Ron shielded his eyes from it as he called on for Ginny, but there was no answer at his every call. He thought about going back to tell his mother that he couldn't find her, but he thought about Ginny as well, who might be very scared at the moment. He knew what it felt to be afraid after meeting the boggart in the attic, his first real fear. Thunder roared. Ron jumped in surprise when it did, but he still went on in search for Ginny.

_"Scorpius, Dad's going to get sick," said Rose as she gripped Scorpius's shirt tightly. They had been following Ron closely. __Rose looked fretfully at Ron's direction as he continued calling for his sister. "Scorpius, we have got to help him," she said definitely. _

_Scorpius smirked. "I'd love to," he replied. "If only this wasn't a memory."_

The rain fell harder. A chill ran down Ron's spine. He clicked his tongue. "Ginny, where could you be?" he muttered. He walked around the place where the man had directed him, but Ginny couldn't be found anywhere. "Oh Merlin, please let me find Ginny. Mum would kill me if I don't." He walked another round, but still had no success in finding her.

"Ron!" Ron's heart leapt when he heard that sweet voice call his name. He turned and saw his younger sister drenched by the rain. Ginny ran to him and threw her arms around him. "I was so scared, Ron. I thought you weren't coming back for me any longer. I waited for you by the swings!" she said, her voice seemed broken as she spoke.

Ron looked at her face. He couldn't tell whether they were tears or just raindrops. He took off the coat he had been wearing and placed it above her head. She looked at him for a moment. Their eyes met and there was silence.

"I tried to go back to you after a while that they told me that you couldn't come," Ginny explained, "but you weren't by the swings. They weren't nice people. They keep teasing me about my clothes." She looked at her clothing. Ron could now tell that she was crying. "I tried to wear the best ones I could find and this is it. They said I shouldn't come to the party if I can't dress nicely enough and I'm dressed already," she said.

Ron nodded. "I know. You look all right to me."

"But not to them," protested Ginny.

"What is that to you?" asked Ron. He stopped walking. Ginny turned back to him. "Are you telling me now that you're ashamed to be a Weasley?" Ginny didn't answer. She looked very much unsure. "Well, you shouldn't be. We may not have the best everything, but we're always all right. You never cared about wearing old things until you started being friends with Penny. You cared less if you were being included in their parties or not." Ron cocked his head. "We've gone through more than enough to know that it's not what the clothes we wear that counts."

Ginny sniffed. "You don't understand…"

"What don't I?" asked Ron. "We come from the same place and I'm proud to belong there. I know I don't get the best clothes or the best shoes and I don't get invited to parties and people tease me, but what do I care? Let them be!" He looked into Ginny's eyes. "If there's anyone who understands you more right now, it's a Weasley." Ron smiled for Ginny. "Come on, let's go home. Mum's really worried about you," he said. "I hear there's a Chocolate Frog back at home. Want it? I get the card though."

Under the rain, they walked off. There were no more tears in Ginny's eyes now. Apparently, they're just raindrops.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

When the light disappears  
And when this world's insincere  
You'll be safe here  
When nobody hears you scream  
I'll scream with you  
You'll be safe here  
Save your eyes  
From your tears  
When everything's unclear  
You'll be safe here  
From the sheer weight  
Of your doubts and fears  
Wounded heart

_**-Rivermaya-**_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_"Ron's right. Only a Weasley would be able to understand her." Scorpius watched as the two walked away and the scene darkened. "Though I daresay that it's very unfair that they have to put up with all these things. They're nice people and you don't have to look at their clothes to find that out, do you?" He looked at Rose who was beaming at him. "Speechless?" he asked. Rose plainly nodded. _

**A/N: Thank you for reading and for keeping up on the story! I really appreciate that. I hope you review this one too! **

**NEXT CHAPTER: It's My Life**


	17. It's My Life

_"Look at the crowd__ here. I've never seen Diagon Alley with this much people before,__" said Rose as she looked around. Witches and wizards walked about. She searched for a familiar face. "There they are." Rose pointed to the middle of the crowd where a bunch of red heads walked. She pulled Scorpius's hand. "It must be Dad. He's going to be off to Hogwarts coming September." Scorpius stumbled behind her, but Rose insisted on pulling him. "Hurry up. I want to see how Dad got his wand and all," she said excitedly. _

_Scorpius pulled his hand away from Rose. "I can walk on my own, thank you very much," he said. He straightened up and walked alongside Rose. "I never knew you could walk this fast. Why don't you when you know well we're going to be late for classes?" he asked succinctly. Rose shrugged. Scorpius __sighed__. "__Figures,__"__ he muttered as he followed Rose. _

"Now has everyone got there letters?" The boys nodded. Molly smiled at Ron. "I'm very happy that you're staring Hogwarts now." Ron smiled. He looked tall now with a gangling awkward body, big hands, big feet and a pointed nose. "Now you lot go into Flourish and Blotts and pick out the books you need." She turned to Ron. "You come with me. You too Ginny. We're going to have robes done and then follow your brothers afterwards."

Ginny walked briskly beside her mother. "Can't I come too?" she asked.

"No," replied Molly sternly. "We have been over this a million times. You can go to Hogwarts if it is your time to go." Molly shifted her eyes to Ron. "Here we are." She opened the door to the store which sold second hand robes. "Good morning," said Molly gleefully as she entered. "My son's starting Hogwarts this September. I would like to have one the right size for him."

The woman behind the counter nodded. "All right, Mrs. Weasley." She looked at Ron and took out her measuring tape. "Oh, not the twins, is he, this one. I believe he has the older boy's structure. What was his name again? The smart one?" asked the woman.

Molly smiled. "Percy," she replied quickly.

"Oh yes, Percy," said the woman. "That boy was wonderful to talk to when he walked into my shop." She took Ron's measurements. "And this is your youngest son, I presume? I have never seen him." Molly nodded. The woman walked back to the counter. "I have just the set of robes for him. I'll be back in a while. I think they belonged…" he voice trailed off as she went to the back of the room.

_Scorpius looked stunned. "Your dad used to get second hand robes?" Rose nodded for she already knew this. Scorpius's mouth went dry. He could have never imagined what it would like to own second hand robes, and to think his father buys him a new one every summer because he grows tall pretty fast. "Why doesn't he just wear some clothes belonging to Charlie and Bill?" he asked._

_Rose shrugged. "Maybe because Uncle Fred and Uncle George had already taken them." Scorpius nodded understandingly. Rose turned to him. "Dad also got a second hand wand, you know. He had never really__ bought his own until recently." __Scorpius looked aghast. Rose nodded. "Sad, but true," she added as she turned back to her father._

"There you go," said the woman as she handed Molly a large box. "It's all that will fit him." She looked at Ron and smiled pleasantly. "I hope you have a good term in Hogwarts. I believe you will enjoy your stay there." She nodded at Molly. "You have a pleasant day. I will see you again nest year," she looked sideward at Ginny, "for your beautiful daughter's robes, I presume?"

Molly nodded abruptly. "Yes." She turned to her two children. "Come on now. Your brothers are waiting for us. I believe your father would be waiting for us by now." She turned back to the woman and waved. "See you again next year and thank you for having the robes we just needed." The woman nodded. The three Weasleys left the store and headed towards Flourish and Blotts. "We still do have to buy an owl," she said dryly.

"Why?" asked Ginny.

"Because Percy is a prefect," replied Molly. They had reached Flourish and Blotts. "Arthur, you're here." Arthur turned and nodded. He looked delighted to see the three. "Have you bought the boys their books yet?"she asked. Arthur nodded. "Good. I'm off to buy Percy's owl for a while." She looked at Ron. "You coming?" Ron nodded. Molly took Ginny's hand. "Come on then," she said and walked hurriedly out of the bookstore.

Ginny raised her eyebrow. "What's your hurry, Mum?" she asked.

"It does not concern you, Dear," answered Molly. They managed to squeeze through the crowd. "It gets a little crowded in here every time. I already warned Arthur about this, but no, he had to pick this day where crowds would go wild and buy all their children's things for their first year." Ron looked at his mother. For a while he thought he heard an ungrateful tone of voice, but he dismissed it from his thoughts. He knew his mother would never regret marrying his father. "Here we are."

Ginny tugged her mother's robes. "Mum, how come Percy gets an owl? Bill did not when he became Head Boy and Prefect," she pointed out.

"Bill's different," said Molly as she looked through all of the owls in front of the store. She sighed when she saw how much they cost. "Well, I guess this will have to do," she said, reaching for one of the owl cages. "Come on now, you two. Let's go inside and pay for them so we could get back to the others. We would be back in time for lunch, I suppose."

Ron watched as his mother shelled out money to pay for the owl. "If I become prefect, will I get an owl too?" he asked.

Molly smiled faintly. "We'll see, Dear." She took Ginny's hand. "It's best we be off now. At this rate we're going, we'll end up eating lunch here." Ginny and Ron looked at each other. Molly and her children made their way back to Flourish and Blotts.

Percy squirmed upon seeing the owl. "Thank you, Mother," he said. Molly nodded and handed him the cage with the rattling owl inside it. He looked at the twins who looked back at him grudgingly. "I told you studying and good behavior pays off very well." He cockily threw his head back and walked out of the store with his books tucked under his left arm.

"Have we got everything?" asked Arthur, turning to Molly who nodded. "Then I believe we must get back now, shall we? The crowd is getting too many." He clasped his hands and eyed Ron. "I am very proud of you. We'll be seeing you to Hogwarts too this year." He smiled and placed his hand on Ron's shoulder as they walked on. "I think we can expect a lot from you. You're a smart kid. Make the Weasleys proud once more."

"Didn't I?" Percy said smugly when he heard this. He had been waiting outside for the rest of his family.

Fred restrained himself from rolling his eyes. The rest of the Weasley family walked on and made their way back to the Burrow. Ron's eyes sparkled as he brought his new second hand things into the house. He couldn't believe he was to start Hogwarts too like all of his older brothers. He walked straight to his room when they arrived home and dumped everything onto his bed. He took a step back and looked at his things proudly.

_"I hope I can see how Dad' years at Hogwarts were. He refuses to tell them to me every time I ask." Rose eyes twinkled with excitement as she leaned forward to study all her father's old things. "Look at them, Scorpius. Everything Dad has to do with is a hand-me-down. Look at his robes." She looked at her father. She could not understand how he could smile even with those things. She then looked at Scorpius who seemed to be thinking the same thing she was. _

_Scorpius took a deep breath. "I don't know how I will manage to wear a second hand robe." He looked a little guilty. "I never knew people could wear them. I told Dad that they ought to shut that shop down. I never knew people actually went in to buy from there. I rarely see customers," he said. _

"Yes, I don't know," George muffling voice came. Ron heard it. He turned and saw the twins pass by his room. He raised his eyebrow and followed silently behind them. Luckily for him, George didn't completely close the door and he could clearly hear the conversation from beside the wall near the twins' room. And unless you looked very hard for him, he could not be seen.

"He is very indifferent lately. Not only is he very snotty," said Fred. "Didn't he think of Mum and Dad? Didn't he look at their reactions closely? He must have noticed by now that they had rushed things here and there." Ron heard a clunk. "I might be a troublemaker and I'm proud of it, but I think of our family more than I show it and you know it and I don't overdo what I do." Ron heard another clunk. "If Mum offered me an owl, I wouldn't have taken it."

"Me too," agreed George.

"Didn't he notice?" came Fred's voice.

"I don't know. By the looks of it, he didn't. I guess he was so full of it. I bet Bill would have given him a rather good whack if he found out about this, not to mention Charlie," George said in a most serious voice. "Ron and Ginny didn't seem to see it either, did they?" he asked.

"No," replied Fred. "They're excusable. They're still young. It's not their fault."

Ron blinked. He did not understand what the twins were talking about. He quietly sat down on the floor and leaned on the wall behind him. He tried to recall what had happened in Diagon Alley, but he still could not understand what the twins were talking about. He pressed his ears against the wall so that he might understand more. Fred had always said if you want to find out something, you have to do it on your own.

"Percy knows it well," said Fred.

"I'm sure," said George.

Ron heard something heavy being moved. "I don't know how he holds his head up high after that. Mum and Dad, they love him and he's got a head full of it now," said Fred. "I'll never forgive him for today, not until he does something good, not until he tells a joke to my face defying what he used to believe him, as if he is transformed a new man!" he exclaimed.

_Scorpius laughed. "Now he thinks he's a Sear. I'm starting to like that Fred bloke." Scorpius looked at Rose. She didn't look to happy about hearing that. __"I'm sorry about saying that. I know you'd like it more than I do." Rose still didn't look too happy. Scorpius sighed. "I guess everything would be different if he didn't die, huh?"_

_"It's not that," said Rose. She fought back her tears as she looked__at Fred. "What he said, all of it, it became true. It's just…" he voice trailed off. She looked at the twins thoughtfully. "They were so close. They shared everything. They were always there for each other. No wonder Uncle George thought it to be painful speaking about Uncle Fred. __I can't imagine losing Hugo," she whispered._

_Scorpius whispered in a low voice, "I can't imagine losing you," though it s__eemed that Rose did not hear what he just said. _

"You're dreaming," muttered George.

Fred laughed. "I can see it now, George. I can see Percy leaving us and never returning. I can see him disobeying Mum and Dad. I can see him not coming back for Christmas or Easter or the summer. He's out there somewhere and never writes to us and never sees us and never thinks we exist. I can see him completely gone from us and-"

"And I don't like the sound of that," interjected George.

"I'm not done yet," said Fred. "I can see him out of this world away from us hating us!" Ron held his breath. He didn't want Fred to continue. He shut his eyes as he tried to discharge Fred's echoing voice from his head. "But like I said, I'll forgive him. In front of us, all of us, I can see him saying sorry." Fred's voice suddenly dropped into a tone between sadness and happiness. "I miss the Percy we used to know," he said.

"Me too," said George. He suddenly laughed. "You have great plans for Percy's life, you do. Where did you get all of that?" Ron heard another clunk.

"No idea." Ron suddenly froze. He heard footsteps coming near him. "I think there's someone around here," said Fred. Ron could feel a chill run up his spine. He held his breath. He could feel his feet go cold all over. "Nope, no one's here." Ron let out a sigh. "Not." Fred appeared behind Ron and grabbed his shirt. "How long have you been here?" asked Fred.

"Just now," lied Ron. Fred rolled his eyes. "Okay, I've been listening, but it wasn't too long," he lied again. Fred glared at him. "Okay, I was listening the whole time and you can hex me now if you want to," he said shortly.

George walked up to them. "You've been there?" He raised his eyebrows. "Didn't you notice the spiders?" Ron looked to his side and saw a trail of spiders. Color drained from his face. George laughed weakly. "So now you see them. Technically, we can't hex you here, but I'm sure we will when we get to Hogwarts." Ron's face contorted. George eased his. "Just don't tell Percy what you've just hears," he said lamely.

Fred let go of Ron's shirt. "Now go on. Go back to your room and pack. George and I have a lot of things to do that doesn't need you poking around them." Ron looked at him uncertainly. "We're just pissed off about Percy. It's not you." He turned around. "Come on, George. Let's do it." He looked back at Ron for a moment, smiled, then went back into his room, closing the door behind them.

Before Ron could reach his room, he met Molly on the way. She smiled for him. "Ronald," she said in a soft voice. Ron looked at her. "I can't believe you're going to Hogwarts too. You've grown so big now." She gave him a warm smile. "Don't look at me at me like that. It's all right. I know you'll do very fine when you get to Hogwarts."

"Even if I get more detentions than I do House points?" Ron asked.

Molly thought for a moment. "I don't know about that yet, it depends." Ron bit his lower lip. "Don't worry. We'll be proud of you whatever you become." She gently pinched his cheeks. "You're my son and no matter what you do I will be proud of you," she assured him.

"What if I don't become like Bill or Charlie or Percy? What if I'm just another student at Hogwarts?" Ron asked, sounding a little nervous now.

"I don't need you to be any of them, Ron," said Molly with a mother voice. "Just do your best at school and that's all what counts. Have fun and enjoy what childhood you've got left. You'd be of age before you know it and I'm sure you'll want a childhood to look back to. I'm not saying that you have to go as far as Fred and George, but I believe that even if you don't achieve what your brothers do, you'll still be our Ronald. Just be yourself and never change who you are right now. Your father and I will already be happy enough to buy you an owl," she said happily.

"You don't need to," said Ron quickly.

Molly looked puzzled. "I thought you said you wanted one?"

Ron grinned. "Maybe next time when I get old enough to buy one with my own, but I still do want one," he said honestly, making his mother smile even more. "Hey Mum, I'll be in my room packing right now. I can't wait to get to Hogwarts myself." Molly nodded as Ron ran off to his room to do his packing. Ron went into his room cheerfully. "I'm going off to Hogwarts," he said to himself, "I'm going to make my own story from now on. I won't be Bill, or Charlie and definitely not Percy. I might not be as witty as Fred and George, but I will be me. They'll see. It's my life now."

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Everything keeps moving fast  
What I want is what I have  
Right now, I'm closer that I thought I could be  
It's my life, my time to find the answers  
Don't always know what kind of road is in front of me  
But I'll go slow wanna remember every moment  
That this is by the goodness ride has ever been  
It's my life

_**-Bo Bice-**_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_"Determined fellow, isn't he?" said Scorpius. Rose gave him a simper. Scorpius shook his head. "Though as I see it, it's not anymore like father like son. You're not a boy, but you do take a lot after your dad, don't you?" Rose shrugged as the scene faded away once more. "Funny how a lot of things can be the same with you and him now that I see it."_

_"Oh shut it, Scorpius." _

**A/N:**** Thanks for reading and I hope you guys keep on reviewing. The next chapter is the story finale, hope you read that too! Really, thanks for everything!**

**LAST**** NEXT**** CHAPTER: But They Were Happy**


	18. But They Were Happy

_Rose scratched her head. "It's __Platform nine and three quarters__," she muttered. She looked at Scorpius who was looking around. "It hasn't changed throughout the years, has it?" Scorpius shook his head. He looked at the people who were walking bout. "There they are. Look, there's Uncle Harry too. He looked very handsome so to say." __Scorpius threw an odd look at her. Rose turned scarlet. "Well, he does!" she exclaimed defensively. _

_Scorpius looked at the Weasleys' jovial faces. They looked very joyful indeed. He has seen them go through more than he knew he ever would. __He has a sense of respect for Ron now, much more than he had before. He never knew that a man who had to go through so much poverty, so much discrimination, could end up looking very happy and well-off as if the past never happened. Scorpius had never once seen Ron bitter of his lifestyle and that's what amazed him most. _

_"They're going through the barrier," said Rose as she watched them. She looked at the twins who went in after Percy. She looked at Scorpius who still seemed to be critically thinking about something. "Is something bothering you?" she asked. Scorpius shook his head. __Rose gave him a nudge. "Come on, Scorpius. You know you can't hide anything from me, spill it out."_

_"Well," Scorpius started, "I was just thinking a lot. __I never understood your dad __before why he doesn't like fancy things and why he likes it simple even though he could afford almost anything. __Now I know why he has interest in Muggle things, aside form the fact that he married a Muggle-born. I never understood why he can be very protective of that second hand store he used to buy robes in. Now I see __all__ this and I wish that Dad could too so he could understand the Weasleys more."_

_Rose smiled at him. "So you're saying that you know why my Dad dislikes your Dad now?" she asked. _

_"A little," Scorpius answered, "but not everything.__ I also admire the Weasleys a lot for staying happy. They always go through everything with each other, holding on to each other. No one could ask for more loving parents and caring brothers. Yes from time to time they disagree, but they manage to patch things up. I mean, they always seem happy.__"_

_"And contented," Rose added. _

_"True," replied Scorpius._

_Rose pointed to the Hogwarts Express as the scene blurred. "Hey, why's Dad removing this part! I wanted to know how he met Uncle Harry. Dad said it changed his life so much." Scorpius shrugged. __Rose raced to the blurring part of it. __"Dad, no!__ Don't erase__ this part." Rose reached for the last bit of color that could be seen. "This is so unfair of Dad!" she complained. _

_Scorpius turned around. "Look, there's something coming back," he hissed. _

"Oh shut up!" said Percy

"How come Percy gets new robes anyway?" said Fred.

"Because he is prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, Dear, well have a good term-send me an owl when you get there." She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. She turned to the twins. "Now you two-this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more own that you've blown up the toilet or-"

"Blown up the toilet? We haven't blown up a toilet."

"Great idea though, thanks, Mum."

"It's not funny. And look after Ron."

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekeins is safe with us."

"Shut up," said Ron. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother rubbed it.

"Hey Mum, guess who we just met on the train?"

"You know the black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?"

"Who?"

"Harry Potter!"

"Oh Mum, can I go on the train and see him, oh please Mum…"

"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something to google at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"

_The surrounding was blurring again and Rose didn't look too happy about it. "And it was getting to be a good part," she grumbled. Scorpius laughed. She eyed him. "I bet Dad's hiding something when he erases some parts," she said grudgingly._

_"Be grateful to have seen some," Scorpius said. "We shouldn't be here in the first place. If your father finds out we both wouldn't be too happy about it." He looked at his watch. "Don't you think we should pull ourselves away now? It's nearing the time he gets home and it's not going to be pretty if he sees us looking at his memories."_

_"Don't be a coward," hissed Rose. Another coloring scene overtook the black one. "Oh something's coming back," she quickly said, changing to topic immediately. "I hope we get to see how Dad met Uncle Harry. It would be lots of fun to! They were best friends for ages and I'm glad that he became part of the family!" she said enthusiastically. _

"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You can say that I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left. Bill was Head Boy and Charlie was the captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new either with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."

_Scorpius raised his eyebrows. "What happened to the robes that they got from the second hand shop?" he asked. He glanced back at Ron. __He saw one of the twins pass by that very moment. "Oh, one__ of his brothers must be__ wearing it, I guess," he said flatly. __Rose nodded. Scorpius looked around. The black scene came to corner them again. "Your dad must have wanted a lot of things unknown," he muttered, looking at Rose who seemed quite irritated. _

_"Unfortunately," she replied, "but I don'__t blame him." She looked at her father. "He's got a lot to live up to really. I can't blame him for anything now." She looked back at Scorpius. "I wish I hadn't said a lot of callous things to him…" her voice faded as another scene reappeared. _

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard. I've learned all our course books by heart, I just hope it will be enough. I'm Hermione Granger by the way and who are you?"

_Rose squealed. "It's Mum!" Scorpius laughed. He couldn't help himself. __He never knew that Hermione was like this when she was a child. He could have never imagined for she became different as time passed by. He looked at Rose who was glaring at him. "Why are you laughing?" she demanded and if looks could kill, Scorpius would have been murdered. _

_"Nothing," Scorpius replied as he tried to contain himself. __He's gained another insight of Rose's family and now he knew where Rose had gotten her sense of bossiness from and apparently it wasn't from her father as he had first guessed. __Hermione's face faded from view. Scorpius stopped laughing. He too now was hoping he would get to see more. He was rather enjoying it. _

_As the next scene appeared, Rose pulled Scorpius shirt, making him stumble to his side. __"Scorpius, look!"_

_Sure enough, young Draco Malfoy stood before them. One of them Scorpius recognized as his godfather Gregory Goyle. The other he seemed to have never met. Scorpius gazed at his father from head to toe. They looked so much alike, although Draco looked much younger than him at the moment. _

"Is it true?" Draco said. "They're all saying down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"Oh this is Crabbe and Goyle," said Draco. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out that some Wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

_Rose gasped. __She spun wildly at Scorpius who was looking pale. He watched as his father slowly faded away from the picture. His throat tightened and his mouth went dry. For a moment there, he couldn't face Rose at all.__ She was indeed the daughter of the man his father had just bluntly insulted.__He never knew his father had been this indifferent towards the Weasleys. __His eyes fixed on the fading scene and couldn't help but wonder why his father acted in such a way for he never saw the Weasleys to be of any wrong sort. _

Before Scorpius could say a word, he felt someone grab the back of his collar. Rose and Scorpius fell backwards. Both turned pale when they saw who had pulled them out of the pensive. They stood up and faced Ronald Weasley whose arms were across his chest looking down at them quite unhappily. The two thirteen-year-old teenagers hung their heads.

"Any explanation I need to hear?" Ron asked. Rose shook her head. Following Rose's lead, Scorpius did too. "I bet it seemed like a museum to you, didn't it?" He eyed Scorpius. "Most especially to you. Maybe you thought life was funny back then, huh?"

"No I didn't," countered Scorpius. "In fact, I learned a lot…" his voice faded. He looked away from Ron. "I never knew Dad could be so mean. You never did anything to him and he just insulted you right at the face. I didn't want him to, honestly! I think you Weasleys are great having seen all that. I mean, after all those you've gone through? I was amazed and…" he looked at Ron's eyes, "…envious really," he finished in a low tone.

Ron looked baffled. "What are you to be envious about? I bet Malfoy's given you everything since you seem to be his only son. What can you possibly be jealous about in our family? We couldn't even afford a turkey for Christmas then," he said as his face seemed to look as if he was reminiscing his own past at the moment.

"But you were happy," replied Scorpius. "You didn't need things. Everything in your family was perfect and happy. Oh yes there were times when it wasn't very happy, but you get my point." He sighed deeply. "I never get that feeling when I'm at home. My family never gathers around by the fireplace and never does anything you did when you were young." He looked at the floor. "I guess I can't really be as happy as you are."

For a moment, all Ron's temper drained as he looked at the boy. "That's not it," he said gently causing Scorpius to look at him. "You know what? You can be just as happy, even happier." He looked at his daughter. "You've got my Rosie clinging on to you." Rose turned scarlet. "You've got a family, a home, everything you need. You know what you're lacking?" he asked. Scorpius shook his head. Ron s smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You know what? We had a little secret, my family."

Scorpius looked up, interested. "What?"

Ron smiled even wider. "Just hold your head up high. We knew we'd make it through it, as a person, as a family. Even if we go through all those things you saw, we managed to pull ourselves together. We had our own hopes, our own dreams. All the pain we felt, it will be gone soon and we knew it, as long as we let go. Dreams don't die with tears in our eyes, that's why we made it this far. We never made it out of our life from the past, we're still living it. Apparently we are still the Weasleys we knew. We just made it this far." His eyes met with Scorpius's earnest ones. "Don't worry. Malfoy will come around sooner or later. He knows this as well."

"But he wasn't nice," said Rose suddenly.

Ron laughed a bit. "No he wasn't, but people could change throughout the years, I guess." He looked back at Scorpius. "Just remember. The key to our happiness was holding it up high, toughening it out. You know you won't forever be with your parents and they won't forever be with you, but with that in min, you'll survive and stay happy whatever comes your way, that's a promise."

Rose looked at her father hopefully. "So you're not mad at us for going into your pensive?"

"Mad, no" replied Ron. Rose's ears clapped. "But disappointed, yes. I already warned the both of you not to go near the pensive, especially not to dive into it." He glanced at the two teenagers. "It wasn't a very pleasant thing to see, not all of it. I'm just glad that there were some things I decided not to throw in there." He looked at the pensive carefully.

Rose sighed. "Dad, can you tell me something?" she asked. Ron looked at her. "Why did you keep on erasing a lot of stuff from there? If you don't mind answering that…"

Ron thought for a moment. "I'm not the type of person to want to remember the happiest moments or the saddest of them," he answered. "I want to remember what it felt like to be in between to emotions because that's what kept me real. I've erased those times when I felt the world was ending, which apparently is not going to be I guess, and I've also taken out those that made me want to stop time then and there," he said.

"Why?" Scorpius suddenly piped up.

"Because time wouldn't go on. If I wanted time to stop there, then there wouldn't be happier moments. I know I'm happy, but then, what about the next time?" said Ron. "Life goes on and on. People keep changing everyday. It's the only thing that's constant in this world, changes. If I had wanted time to stop and if I wanted to keep those emotions, Scorpius, you wouldn't have met Rose," he said.

"Why?" this time it was Rose who asked.

Ron calmly explained, "Because I wouldn't have wanted more. I would've been satisfied. I wouldn't have wanted for your mother. I wouldn't have had you and Hugo which made life even happier. And it could go on and on." He turned to Scorpius. "Which brings me back to my point that things change. Hold your head up high, no matter what you feel. Remember, dreams don't die with tears in your eyes. Stay happy as you are."

Scorpius nodded. "Thanks, Ron," he said. He looked at his watched. "Oh Merlin! I better get home now. Mum's going to kill me if I miss dinner." He waved at Ron and Rose who were both beaming at him. "Thanks so much. I learned a lot from you guys! I hope I'll be the same when I grow up, or as I grow up! I'll see you tomorrow! Thanks for the advice, Mr. Weasley!"

Scorpius walked down the road towards his house. He recalled his father's voice as it rang in his ears. Those very exact words dug deeply into his thoughts and his heart.

_"…__red __hair,__ freckles, and more children than they can afford__…"_

Scorpius looked up. He looked back where he and Rose had that grand adventure.

_"…__red __hair,__ freckles, and more children than they can afford__…"_

Scorpius smiled. "But they were happy."

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Time won't flow  
Everyone knows  
When the pain fades away  
Dreams won't die  
With tears in our eyes  
You got to hold your head up high

_**-The Speaks-**_

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**A/N: I just want to thank everyone who stuck with this story and keep on reviewing. Thank you for your encouragement. This has been one of the stories that I've put my heart into writing. I'm sorry for the typos, bad grammar, I try my best to correct them every Chapter, but there are really times I couldn't be awake enough to check everything because I usually do my stories at dawn. I know that's not an excuse, but it's one of the reasons why.**

**Anyway, I really thank all of you for the constant support! This is going to be the last story in a while, a long while...So I hope you read and enjoy my other past stories that I've written before...So there!**

**Yours Truly, **

**Lexie :) **


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